Mikell R. Scarborough was born in Charleston, SC in 1958 the son of Eugene Stallworth Scarborough and Elizabeth Lucas Hanahan (now Clark). He is married to the former Mary LeMacks and they have three children, Ross, Elizabeth and Thomas.

He attended public schools in Camden, SC and received his Bachelor of Arts degree from The University of the South in Sewanee, TN in 1980. He obtained his Juris Doctorate from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1983. He worked as a judicial law clerk to Circuit Court Judge Owens Cobb and Supreme Court Justice Lee Chandler. He served as Assistant Solicitor to Donnie Myers in Lexington, SC from 1985-1987. After private practice in Columbia, he returned to Charleston in 1991. He was a solo practitioner from 1999 until his appointment as Master in Equity on June 21, 2003.

Mr. Scarborough was appointed a member of the Charleston County Planning Commission in 1992 and served as its chairman from 1996-2003 during which time he oversaw the creation of the first Charleston County Comprehensive Plan and the subsequent Land Development Regulations. "This experience gave me a unique perspective on the growth Charleston and the change in store for this community which I love."

He represented the Charleston County Election Commission from 1999-2003 and served as an assistant Charleston County attorney from 1998-2002. He was a member of the board of directors for the Charleston County Public Defender Corporation and served as proxy to the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments from 1999-2003. He served on the vestry of St. Michael's Episcopal Church from 1998-2001.