He graduated cum laude from Baylor University in Waco as a University Scholar in 1996. He attended law school at the University of Texas at Austin, where he was an original staff member of the Texas Review of Law & Politics, a conservative and libertarian law journal. He graduated from law school in December of 1998 and took the February 1999 Texas Bar Exam, receiving his license to practice law in May of 1999. He has continuously practiced law in the state of Texas since that time.