Clay graduated from Belmont University College of Law. During law school, Clay clerked for the Honorable Judge Joe Thompson in the Sumner County Circuit Court for the 18th Judicial District of Tennessee. Clay was a member of the Belmont Health Law Journal in which his note, Help Us, Help You: Big Tech and the Future of Personal Health Records was published. He was also a member of the 2019 Belmont Health Law Transactional team that won the National Championship at the L. Edward Bryant, Jr., Health Law Competition at Loyola University-Chicago.

Clay received his undergraduate degrees from the University of Tennessee and also studied at Moscow State University in Moscow, Russia. Upon completing his undergraduate studies, Clay received the Congressional Internship Program Scholarship where he worked on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., for Senator Bob Corker and Congresswoman Diane Black. Clay also worked as a Deputy Clerk in Sumner County for Circuit Court Clerk Kathryn Strong.

Clay enjoys traveling and sports and was able to combine both passions in 2018 when he attended the FIFA World Cup in Russia. He is also a writer for Nashville Hockey Now where he discusses the ins-and-outs of the Nashville Predators and news across the hockey world. In addition, Clay can read, write, and speak conversational Spanish and Russian.