Billy Merck was born and raised in Athens, Georgia.  He attended Whitehead Road Elementary School, Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School, and Clarke Central High School, where he played football.  After graduating from high school, he initially went to college at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Georgia to study chemical engineering.  However, having decided to change his course of studies, he transferred back home to the University of Georgia, where he completed an undergraduate degree in sociology in 2000.  He then attended the University of Georgia School of Law, graduating in 2004.

     Billy has worked for the Legislative Counsel Bureau of the State of Nevada, drafting legislation and advising members of the legislature as a Deputy Legislative Counsel.  He has also worked as a judicial law clerk for Judge N. Kent Lawrence of the Athens-Clarke County State Court.  He was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in January 2005.  He is a member of the Western Circuit Bar Association and a representative for the Athens district on the Executive Council of the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia.