GEORGETOWN — Georgetown County has a new county attorney after eight months without one, county administrator Angela Christian announced Sept. 24.
Jay Watson will replace Wesley Bryant starting Sept. 27 as Georgetown County attorney, who left in January to be a Judge Advocate General's Corps officer, a legal advisor with a branch of military concerned with military justice and law.
Tommy Morgan with Smith Robinson Law served as interim Georgetown County attorney, county spokeswoman Jackie Broach said.
Bryant joined as the county's first full-time attorney 12 years ago, so the length of the position's vacancy isn't precedented, Broach said. The administrator took her time with applicants so as to ensure the right choice was made, Broach added.
According to the press release, Watson is a graduate of Campbell University School of Law and of Regent University, where he earned a Master of Arts in Public Policy. For 26 years, he worked as an attorney with Watson Bailey Ciochina, LLP in Asheville, N.C., where he represented individuals, families, small businesses, nonprofits and national companies in a variety of civil and criminal matters, including civil litigation, criminal and traffic offenses, business incorporations, transactions, and contracts and mediation.
Watson has been a licensed member of the South Carolina and North Carolina bar associations since 1995, and is also a certified mediator with the courts of South Carolina and North Carolina.Â
Prior to practicing law, he worked with the North Carolina Governor’s Crime Commission, where he assisted law enforcement agencies statewide to establish and operate criminal justice programs for special drug enforcement task forces, juvenile justice and domestic violence programs, and special prosecution teams under grants through the U.S. Bureau of Justice.
