Prior to entering academia he worked as an attorney in Georgia handling a variety of civil and criminal matters in federal and state courts. He has a Ph.D. in mass communication from the University of Georgia, Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, an LL.M. from the University of Georgia School of Law, and a J.D. from Mercer University Walter F. George School of Law. His research focuses on laws affecting public relations practice, specifically regulations on social media, commercial speech, and the Internet. He is the legal research editor for the Institute for Public Relations.