Hurman Sims received his B.A. and J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1966 and 1969.  He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1969 to 1989, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel.  He was admitted to the North Carolina Bar in 1988 and has been in private practice in Jacksonville, North Carolina since 1989.  He is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association, and Onslow County Bar Association where he served as President in 2010.  He is also a family financial mediator certified by the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission.