I was born on July 4, 1977, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the son of a potter and a librarian. In 2000, I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology and Mathematical Sciences (Computer Science concentration). I worked in the software industry in Research Triangle Park until I was laid off in 2001. That (forced) change in direction led me to law school at the University of South Carolina, where I earned my J.D. in 2005.
From 2005 to 2017 in Columbia, then Charleston, I primarily defended small businesses that had been sued in civil court. By 2017 I branched out to a more general practice. I love an underdog and hate a bully. During this period of my practice, I represented an indigent father who had his daughter wrongfully taken by DSS. Over three years later, he got his daughter back, and shortly thereafter I was named the 2013 Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year by the South Carolina Bar Association. Over the years, I’ve also represented indigent criminal defendants, individuals harmed by the recording industry, and numerous clients in both state and federal appellate courts.
On December 29, 2019, I married my wife Emzee Hilliard, daughter of the late Annie (Newton) Hilliard and the late Kenny Hilliard, at the Ralph Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston, South Carolina. Annie was a teacher and taught many, many people in Marlboro County, first at Bennettsville High School, then at Marlboro County High School. Her father, M.L. Newton, was the first owner of the Dairy Dream here in Bennettsville.
I don’t think Emzee thought she was coming back to Marlboro County, but in August of 2020 we moved to Bennettsville, where I opened up my own law office.