Chief Justice Adams earned his undergraduate degree in Political Science and Economics from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, and his law degree from South Texas College of Law Houston, where he was Editor-in-Chief of The South Texas Law Review. He also served as an intern during law school for the Fourteenth Court of Appeals. After law school, Chief Justice Adams was selected to be a briefing attorney for Justice Raul A. Gonzalez (Ret.) on the Supreme Court of Texas.