About Brian C.
Brian C. Lea earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Union University in 2004 and a J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law in 2009. His academic record placed him on a path into appellate work and federal courts. Those early years established the legal foundation that would shape his professional choices.
He began his post-law school career on the appellate bench, serving as a law clerk to Judge Ed Carnes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in 2009. After a stint in private practice as an associate at DLA Piper in 2010, he returned to the judiciary as a law clerk to Associate Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States in 2011. Those three positions gave him immediate exposure to high-level appellate reasoning and federal litigation practice.
Lea moved into academia for a time. In 2015 he served as a visiting assistant professor at the University of Georgia School of Law. There he engaged with students and colleagues on subjects tied to appellate procedure and legal writing. The appointment was brief but reflective of a continuing interest in the doctrinal and pedagogical side of the law.
In 2017 he became a partner at Jones Day. His practice has involved matters in multiple jurisdictions. He maintains memberships in both the Georgia and Florida bar associations and is admitted in several federal forums, including the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, the Eleventh and Seventh Circuits, and the Supreme Court of the United States. Those admissions allow him to handle appeals and federal litigation across a broad geographic area.
Colleagues describe his path as one built on appellate work and federal practice. He has combined time in chambers, a major international law firm, and a law school classroom. That variety shows in the kinds of matters he accepts and the procedural settings where he appears.
Today he is a partner at Jones Day. He handles appeals and complex federal litigation, and he practices in state and federal courts including appellate panels and the Supreme Court.
