Atchley earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Tennessee and his Juris Doctor from the Cumberland School of Law.

He became an assistant United States attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee in 2001 and served in the Criminal Division, supervising the General Crimes and National Security Section.

From 2018 to 2020, Atchley was the first assistant United States attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

President Trump nominated Atchley to the seat vacated by Judge Harry Sandlin Mattice Jr., who assumed senior status on March 10, 2020.

[9] In July 2022, he temporarily barred the Biden administration's Title IX guidance that interpreted Title IX's protections as extending to trans people in 20 states, claiming they infringe on state rights.