Mac Danford retired from the Department of Finance and Real Estate at Colorado State University where he taught legal and ethical issues in business. Mac earned his Bachelor of Arts in political science from Colorado State University, and his Juris Doctor from the University of Denver.

Mac retired from the Colorado Supreme Court in 2004 where he was the court administrator and clerk of the court for 20 years. He then worked as a policy analyst and consultant for the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (a legal reform think tank) at the University of Denver while he was also teaching at Colorado State University. He has authored chapters on certiorari review and original proceedings for the Colorado Bar Association's Colorado Appellate Handbook, and his research on multidistrict litigation was published in The Colorado Lawyer. During his time at the University of Denver he contributed to the publication of articles on electronic discovery, judicial performance evaluations, and judicial accountability. In addition to his legal duties at the Colorado Supreme Court he was also the chair of the Management Committee for the Supreme Court's attorney discipline system which concerned itself with legal ethics. He was a member of the Colorado Supreme Court's Attorney Regulation Committee from 2008 to 2013, and Vice-Chair of that committee from 2013 to 2020.  He was also a member of the Colorado Supreme Court's Advisory Committee until 2020.  He also was a commissioner on the Judicial Performance Commission for the Eighth Judicial District. While at Colorado State University he has been named as a faculty member who was a positive influence several times, and was nominated for the Colorado State University Alumni Association's Best Teacher award in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2017, and 2020.