Mr. Begley is a 1985 graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law. Following graduation he served as a law clerk to, respectively, Judge Walter L. Nixon, Jr., and Magistrate Judge Britt R. Singletary of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. Mr. Begley is a 1980 graduate of Millsaps College in Jackson where he received a B.A. in Political Science (Magna Cum Laude). Immediately after graduating from college, he served for one year as a legislative assistant to Mississippi Governor William Winter and, afterwards, served for one year as administrative assistant to Jackson Mayor Dale Danks. He has been in private law practice in Jackson since 1987.
Mr. Begley's practice has involved the Mississippi gaming industry, which has included representation of casino companies in licensure and development matters. He is a former chair of the Gaming Law Section of the Mississippi Bar.
He has represented the Pearl River Vision Foundation in its effort to create a flood control plan that would convert the Pearl River at Jackson into a recreational lake with major waterfront development for the City's downtown.
Mr. Begley has handled a wide range of environmental issues causing him to appear before the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Mr. Begley has represented numerous individuals and employees in various labor and employment law matters.
Mr. Begley has also represented numerous candidates for elective office and political committees in election related proceedings.
He has lobbied the Mississippi Legislature on various issues, including hazardous waste, gaming and liquor regulation.
Mr. Begley has been retained by the City of Jackson, Mississippi as counsel in numerous public works bond issues, including the 1999 issuance of water and sewer system revenue bonds in the amount of $35 million, the 2003 issuance of general obligation bonds in the amount of $20 million, the 2004 water and sewer system revenue bond issue in the amount of $78 million and the 2011 water and sewer system revenue bond issue in the amount of $49 million. He has served as counsel for the City of Jackson in employment discrimination and police brutality cases and in a constitutional challenge to the City's adult entertainment ordinance. He appeared before the United State Supreme Court in the case of Smith v. City of Jackson (decided March 30, 2005), which considered the question of whether a disparate impact claim can be made under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. He has advised the City on downtown development projects and was counsel for the City's petition for the annexation of 50 square miles of additional territory. He has been employed by the developers of the King Edward Hotel, Standard Life Building and Farish Street Entertainment District, located in downtown Jackson. He presently represents the redeveloper of the Jackson Metrocenter Shopping Mall in West Jackson.
Mr. Begley has served as counsel to numerous contractors, architects and engineers in connection with public contracting issues.
Mr. Begley has represented Belle La Vie, a proposed 5,000-unit master planned community in court proceedings to cause its territory to be annexed into the cities of Biloxi and Gulfport.
In 1995, Mr. Begley was recognized as one of the "Top Forty Under Forty" leaders in the state's business community by the Mississippi Business Journal. He served on the Board of Directors of the Greater Belhaven Neighborhood Foundation, a nonprofit organization involved in the redevelopment and preservation of Jackson's oldest neighborhood. He presently serves on the boards of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Partners, Jackson's business improvement district.