MaryBeth Handte
About
All throughout Mary Elizabeth “MaryBeth” Handte’s childhood, she was told that’d she’d be a lawyer one day. When she was born, her father took one look at her and said “she’s got fire in her eyes.” As MaryBeth grew up, she developed a bullheaded sense of justice while maintaining a soft, sympathetic heart, which allows her to connect with her clients and understand their hardships.
MaryBeth graduated from the University of North Georgia with degrees in Business Administration and Korean and enrolled in Mercer University School of Law. While at Mercer Law, she served as a Justice on the Honor Court and worked for a prominent local trial attorney. Then the COVID-19 pandemic struck during her last semester at Mercer Law. With the campuses shut down and everything transitioning to virtual platforms, MaryBeth moved back home to the mountains of North Georgia and finished up her legal education from the comfort of her family’s farm.
After earning her law degree, MaryBeth worked as a staff attorney for a Superior Court Judge in the Mountain Judicial Circuit. There, she experienced the entire range of the legal system by attending hearings and trials, writing orders and jury instruction, researching complex issues, and connecting with her legal community.
After two years with the Judiciary, MaryBeth ventured out into the world of true legal practice and worked for a prominent insurance defense firm in the Atlanta area. While with the defense firm, MaryBeth developed new professional skills, experienced the practicalities of practice, and learned the ins and outs of personal injury law.
Deciding that city life just wasn’t for her, MaryBeth found a home with Hasty Pope, happy to return to the rolling hills and green trees of Gainesville and surrounding areas. Her experience with “the other side”, connections to the community, and attention to detail are invaluable tools in her practice with Hasty Pope.
In her free time, MaryBeth enjoys reading, exercising, and spending time with her German Shepherd-Belgian Malinois mix, Valkyrie.