James is a graduate of the University of Georgia and the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University. He has practiced law for over 25 years, starting his legal career in Virginia in 1999. In 2003, he returned to Georgia to practice law and has spent the majority of his career serving the citizens of Northeast Georgia as a prosecutor. In 2006, Chafin began serving as Assistant District Attorney in the Western Judicial Circuit for Clarke and Oconee Counties. Since 2022, James has been serving the citizens of Jackson County as an Assistant District Attorney in the Piedmont Judicial Circuit.