James ‘Jay’ Dixon was born at the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY into an army family. He moved throughout his childhood and graduated from high school in Madrid, Spain. After graduating from Bucknell University, he attained a law degree at Loyola New Orleans School of Law. Since graduating, his legal experience has been diverse. Mr. Dixon served as a law clerk at the Louisiana Supreme Court. He had a private practice in New Orleans, while serving with the Jefferson Parish Public Defender’s Office as contract counsel and later joined the St. John Parish Public Defender Office as a full-time line defender. He then served as the Attorney General for the Republic of Palau, a small island nation in the Pacific Ocean. After his return to Louisiana, he accepted a position as a contract defender for the Lafayette Parish Public Defender Office. He was later selected and accepted the position of District Defender for the Parishes of Calcasieu and Cameron where he served from January 2011 through November 2013. He then served as the State Public Defender for the State of Louisiana for more than 5 years until he was selected as a Managing Director for CPCS. He was awarded the Louisiana State Bar Association Catherine D. Kimball Award for the Advancement of the Administration of Justice and the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys Public Defender Trustees of Freedom Gideon Award