Jeff has had two grandchildren graduate from LCA and was the middle school baseball head coach in 2019 under the auspices of the PlayLCA program and has been an assistant varsity baseball coach since 2021.
Jeff received his bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of Georgia in 1975 and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1978. While at the University of Georgia, Jeff served as chief justice of the Student Judiciary and was named a senior superlative based upon his many campus activities and leadership. He is a member of the State Bar of Georgia and is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, all federal district courts in Georgia, the Georgia Supreme Court, and the Georgia Court of Appeals.
Following law school graduation, Jeff clerked for Judge William Malcolm Towson on the Dublin Judicial Circuit and, in 1979, he was appointed an assistant district attorney for the Dublin Judicial Circuit where he served for four years, rising to the position of chief assistant district attorney. In 1983, he began work with the State Law Department as an assistant attorney general and later became the deputy division director for the Governmental Operations Division.
In 1989, he was appointed director of the Elections Division of the Office of the Secretary of State. While serving as director, Mr. Lanier was instrumental in founding the National Association of State Election Directors and served as chairman of its national independent testing authority committee for electronic voting equipment.
In 1997, Jeff entered the private practice of law with the firm of Boyce, Ekonomou, and Atkinson where he was involved in general civil litigation, served as a special assistant attorney general, and consulted with surgical anesthesia and pain management practices around the Southeast regarding Medicare corporate compliance programs.
In 2000, Jeff returned to state employment with the Office of Legislative Counsel where he drafted legislation for the General Assembly and advised the members of the General Assembly on the law as well as represented the General Assembly in litigation. He retired from the Office of Legislative Counsel in 2020 but is still associated with the Office of Legislative Counsel as a consultant.
Jeff and his wife Julie are members of Church on Main in Snellville where he has served as a backup teacher and as a part of the greeter ministry.