MEET JAY UNDERWOOD

Jay was born and raised in the Chattanooga area.  He graduated from Southern Adventist University in 2007.  He attended law school at the University of Memphis and graduated in 2010. 

Jay began his legal career primarily focusing on criminal defense.  In 2014, he joined the Hamilton County Public Defender’s Office.  He has extensive experience in criminal law and has detailed knowledge of the criminal defense process, from arrest all the way through appeal.

While at the Public Defender’s Office, Jay handled many of the office’s most serious cases, was a Division Leader and supervised appeals.  He has successfully litigated serious trials and motions and has earned the respect of judges and other criminal defense attorneys.  Jay has also successfully handled cases at the Court of Criminal Appeals, persuading the Court to reverse two separate murder convictions.  He has also been admitted to practice in Federal Court in the Eastern District of Tennessee and is also licensed in Georgia. 

Jay primarily handles State and Federal Criminal Defense.

• Criminal Defense

• U.S. Federal Courts
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of Tennessee
• Georgia

• Memphis State University School of Law, Memphis, Tennessee
• J.D. – 2010
• Southern Adventist University
• Major: History

• Hamilton County Public Defender’s Office