Jeff holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Georgia Tech, and a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Tennessee. He served as an enlisted U.S. Marine Corps reservist in college and law school and was later commissioned as an officer.  He spent 10 years as an active duty Marine Corps judge advocate, serving as a civil law attorney, representing the Department of the Navy in labor disputes and providing ethics opinions for the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, SC, and serving as a defense and appellate defense counsel. After leaving active duty in 2007, he served for 5 years as an assistant solicitor for South Carolina’s 14th Judicial Circuit, prosecuting crimes committed in Beaufort and Jasper counties. After serving as a reserve operational law officer and appellate defense counsel, he retired from military service in 2016.  He has been a military and civilian criminal defense attorney in Beaufort, SC since 2012.