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Hamre Law Firm: The Former Chief Prosecutor Who Now Defends the Cases He Used to Bring

Before Dan Hamre ever defended a client, he ran the Travis County Attorney’s Criminal Division and led its Family Violence Court as Chief Prosecutor. This Austin criminal defense attorney spent years deciding which cases to prosecute and how — knowledge he now applies from the other side of the courtroom.

At a Glance: Austin Criminal Defense Attorney Overview

Origin & Background

Dan Hamre was licensed to practice in Texas in 1999 and spent his early career on the prosecution side of Travis County’s criminal justice system, rising to Chief Prosecutor, Criminal Division Director, and Family Violence Court Chief for the Travis County Attorney’s Office — roles that gave him direct authority over how domestic violence and criminal division cases were charged and pursued. He has since built a 25-plus-year defense practice in Austin drawing on that institutional knowledge of how the prosecution’s side actually operates.

Practice Concentration

Hamre Law Firm handles DWI and DUI defense, assault and domestic violence charges, drug offenses, juvenile defense, weapons charges, and expunction and record-sealing matters, serving Austin, Pflugerville, Round Rock, and surrounding Central Texas counties. Given Hamre’s specific background running Travis County’s Family Violence Court as a prosecutor, domestic violence defense is a notable area of concentrated experience — he has direct, firsthand knowledge of how those specific cases are built and charged from the other side.

Notable Work

The firm does not publish a structured, itemized case-results table. Independent client reviews describe specific outcomes, including three misdemeanor charges resolved without further penalty despite a client’s failure-to-appear complication, and a domestic violence charge where the client described Hamre “working it all down to a misdemeanor and probation” from a more serious initial charge. Past results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case, and these are client-described outcomes rather than independently verified court records.

Client Voice

Hamre holds a 5.0-out-of-5 rating across 13 Avvo reviews, with no misconduct found in his bar record. One client, describing a domestic violence charge, wrote that Hamre “took the time to listen to my case and immediately made me feel like I was in good hands,” adding that as a former prosecutor “he can never make any mistakes” about how the system works and that his team “updated me weekly.” Another client who had never previously hired a private attorney, having relied on court-appointed counsel in the past, wrote that Hamre “fought for me and knew when to hold out on crappy deals by the prosecution,” resulting in charges reduced to a misdemeanor with probation. No negative reviews of substance were located during this research.

Beyond the Courtroom

Hamre’s specific prior public-sector roles — Chief Prosecutor, Criminal Division Director, and Family Violence Court Chief for Travis County — represent a sustained institutional commitment to the county’s criminal justice system prior to entering private defense practice, distinct from a brief prosecutorial stint some defense attorneys cite more loosely in marketing.

Recognition

No Texas Board of Legal Specialization certification for Hamre was confirmed in available public materials, and this profile does not use “specialist” language for him as a result — a distinction worth noting directly, since several other Austin criminal defense attorneys in this directory do hold that state-administered credential. Hamre’s standing instead rests on his documented prior public-sector leadership roles and a clean, high Avvo rating built on a meaningful review sample.

Texas Legal Backdrop

Texas DWI is governed by Texas Penal Code Chapter 49; a first offense is generally a Class B misdemeanor, escalating to a Class A misdemeanor with a prior conviction, an open container, or a blood alcohol concentration of 0.15 or above, and to a felony with a third conviction or a child under 15 in the vehicle. Domestic violence-related charges in Texas fall under Penal Code Chapter 22 (Assault) with specific “family violence” findings under the Texas Family Code that carry consequences beyond the criminal case itself, including protective order proceedings that run on a separate civil track. This is general background information, not legal advice, and does not account for the specific facts of any case.

Awesome Attorneys Assessment

Running Travis County’s Family Violence Court as Chief Prosecutor before switching to defense work is a specific, verifiable form of institutional expertise that’s hard to overstate for domestic violence and DWI defense specifically — Hamre isn’t claiming general familiarity with “how prosecutors think,” he held the actual leadership role that decided how those cases got charged. A perfect 5.0 Avvo rating across 13 reviews, with detailed, specific client accounts rather than generic praise, reinforces that reputation.

The honest gap: Hamre does not hold Texas Board of Legal Specialization certification, which several comparable Austin criminal defense attorneys in this directory carry, and the review sample size (13 Avvo reviews) is smaller than some larger firms profiled here. Neither of those facts undercuts the specific, documented strength of his prosecutorial background — but a prospective client should understand that “board certified specialist” and “former chief prosecutor” are two different, non-interchangeable kinds of credibility, and ask directly about current case volume and availability given the firm’s boutique size.

Methodology & Sourcing

This profile was compiled from the firm’s own website (hamrelaw.com), including its testimonials page, Avvo’s attorney profile, reviews, and licensing record (no misconduct found), the State Bar of Texas attorney directory, Martindale’s attorney listing, FindLaw’s directory listing, and LawInfo’s firm profile.

Publisher Disclosure & Independence Notice

Awesome Attorneys is an independently researched legal directory. This profile was not paid for, commissioned, or reviewed by Hamre Law Firm prior to publication. Awesome Attorneys may in the future offer sponsored placement products to firms profiled on this site, but sponsorship status has no bearing on editorial content, and inclusion in this directory is not an endorsement of any firm for any particular legal matter. Nothing in this profile constitutes legal advice or a lawyer referral; readers with a legal question should consult a licensed Texas attorney directly.