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I was born in Kansas, and raised in Southern Illinois. I stress the southern part of that statement because, as any Illinois resident will tell you, Springfield south is a whole different state than Springfield north. I Graduated from Frankfort Community High School in West Frankfort Illinois in 1990. I attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and studied Political Science. I moved to Nashville Tennessee in 2001 and quickly made middle Tennessee my home.

I worked in the Information Technology (IT) field for over 15 years. I  worked on desktops and servers, managed departments and regions, worked as a network engineer, project manager and technical sales support. I acquired many technical certifications along the way and served on some very prestigious boards and committees, I have even helped to write many exams for technical certifications such as A+, Net+, Security+, etc.

The IT field has been very good to me over the years, however I decided a few years back to begin a second career and a fulfill a life long dream to pursue earning a law degree. Along the way I went back to college to refresh my formal education and received a BA from Middle Tennessee University focused on business law. I accepted an offer to become part of Belmont University’s charter law school class in 2011 and graduated in May of 2014 with my Juris Doctorate.  

During law School I worked for a year and a half as an intern and assistant for the District Attorney General's office in the 13th judicial district. I am continuing to work with this great office, while preparing for the bar exam in July. 

I am also focusing on some legal writing projects that I have been working on. Specifically I am working on two criminal law related articles, one on the progression of cyber crime into rural America, and another on the forfeiture of bulk currency in drug arrests involving small amounts of narcotics. I also plan to expand my research this summer on the topic of decision making during plea bargains, a subject I wrote extensively about in a 50 page student note, for which I received a best practice award, while in Law School.

Some specific examples of what I have been doing the last few years are listed below:

            
• I accepted an offer to become part of Belmont University’s charter law school class, I began in August of 2011. My expected graduation date is May of 2014.

 

• In May 2012 I accepted a legal research assistant position for Professor Jeffrey Usman.  The research focused on such topics as ex post facto laws, death penalty cases, and summary judgment changes in Tennessee courts.

 

• In August my research assistant position was extended for the duration of the next year (Through the spring of 2013).

 

• From July – September of 2012 I interned for the Public Defender’s Office where I was fortunate enough to be of assistance in hundreds of criminal cases.

 

• In August of 2012 I was selected to represent the Law School as an upperclassmen representative of the Belmont College of Law Inn of Courts.  

 

• In the Fall of 2012 I was selected for a scholarship from the Upper Cumberland Trial Lawyers Association and was also chosen to participate in the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division's Diversity Leadership Institute.

 

• In the Fall of 2012 I received a Best Performance Award from Belmont School of Law.

 

• In January of 2013 I received my Rule 7 Limited License to Practice law in Tennessee. 

 

• In January of 2013 I accepted an internship position with the District Attorney General's office of the 13th Judicial District, where I appear in court and represent the State of Tennessee in criminal matters.

 

• In April of 2013 I accepted an offer to extend my research assistant position through my final year of law school.

• In May of 2013 I was elected as the Law School Representative for the Upper Cumberland Young Lawyers Association, which is an affiliate of the Tennessee Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division.

• In June of 2013 I successfully completed a School supervised externship, for which I received class credit.                                                                                                                                                                                           
• In February of 2014 I accepted a paid position as a legal assistant with the   District Attorney General's office of the 13th Judicial District.
                                                                                                                                                                               
• In May of 2014 I graduated Law School with a Juris Doctorate from Belmont College of Law and have completed my application to sit for the Bar Exam in July of 2014.

In addition to Law School and work, I am a father, husband, and outdoors enthusiast. Please do not hesitate to contact me for further information. And thanks again for checking out my digital home.