Athens attorney hired to protect county’s interests

Grady County commissioners moved quickly this week to hire a noted Georgia attorney to represent the county’s interest in a lawsuit filed against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers by the Georgia River Network and American Rivers in protest of the issuance of a 404 permit being issued for the construction of a 960-acre lake on Grady County’s Tired Creek.
After meeting for nearly an hour behind closed doors, the board voted unanimously to hire Athens attorney Ed Tolley of the firm Cook Noell Tolley & Bates.
Tolley is best known as the attorney for the University of Georgia Athletic Association, Inc.
Tolley, a native of Texas, earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in business from the University of Georgia and a Juris Doctor degree from the UGA School of Law.
Tired Creek consultant and project manager Wm. Thomas Craig and his associate Laura Benz introduced commissioners to Tolley Tuesday night.
The three attorneys in addition to County Attorney Kevin S. Cauley met behind closed doors with commissioners to discuss the pending litigation.
As Craig told The Cairo Messenger last week, he highly recommended the county move to file for intervention in the lawsuit filed against the Corps.
It was also Craig’s recommendation to hire Tolley as the co-counsel with Cauley to represent the county’s interest in the legal action.
Tolley is admitted to practice in the Southern District of U.S. Federal Court.
“We are putting together a team to insure our interests in our permit are protected,” said County Attorney Cauley.