Judge Walton J. McLeod, IV, was born in Columbia, South Carolina in 1978 to Walton and Julie Hamiter McLeod.    He grew up in Little Mountain, South Carolina located in Newberry County, and is married with three children.

After attending Mid-Carolina High School, Judge McLeod graduated from Episcopal High School in 1997.   He graduated from Tulane University in 2001 with a B.A. in History and was commissioned as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy through the Tulane NROTC.    During his active duty service from 2001-2005, he graduated from Surface Warfare Officers School, and served as Strike Warfare Officer of USS THORN (DD-988) and Navigator of USS MITSCHER (DDG-57).  He participated in three deployments to the Mediterranean Sea and one deployment to the Indian Ocean.

After graduating from the University of South Carolina, School of Law in 2008, Judge McLeod served as law clerk to the Circuit Judge James R. Barber, III.    He began private practice in 2009 working for Woods Law Firm in Lexington, SC.  In 2011 he accepted a position with Mike Kelly Law Group in Columbia, SC, concentrating his practice in civil litigation, veterans disability, and professional licensure defense.  In 2015, Judge McLeod opened the Columbia office of McLeod Law Group, LLC and continued his civil litigation practice representing plaintiffs and defendants.

Judge McLeod is a member of the South Carolina Bar, Lexington County Bar, Richland County Bar and Newberry County Bar Associations.   He is a graduate of the S.C. Bar Leadership Academy, and served as Chair for the S.C. Bar Convention Committee from 2016-2018 and previously served in the S.C. Bar House of Delegates.  He is also a 2015 graduate of Leadership Columbia and an Eagle Scout.  Judge McLeod has been admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of South Carolina, U.S. District Court of South Carolina, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

Judge McLeod was elected by the South Carolina General Assembly on February 7, 2018, as a resident judge for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Seat 2.