Aasia Mustakeem, general counsel, Atlanta BeltLine (Courtesy photo)

The organization behind Atlanta’s trendy and burgeoning multiuse trail has named a new top lawyer.

Atlanta BeltLine Inc. announced that Aasia Mustakeem has been named general counsel. She succeeds Nina Hickson, who left last year to become city attorney.

In her new role, Mustakeem, most recently a partner at Smith, Gambrell & Russell for the past eight-plus years, will work closely with the ABI’s executives to advance its goals and initiatives and manage all legal matters, as well as with city leaders, community organizations and other private and public stakeholders. The matters include corporate transactions, corporate governance, compliance and risk management, as well as transactional and negotiations work in real estate, according to the statement announcing her hire.

At Smith Gambrell, Mustakeem, who could not immediately be reached for comment, represented developers, investors and owners of commercial real estate in a full range of transactions that included acquisition, disposition and development of office, hotel, retail, industrial and mixed-use projects, the announcement added.

Prior to that role, she held partnerships and did extensive real estate work at Epstein Becker & Green, Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell and Powell Goldstein, according to her LinkedIn profile. Outside of the office, she is extensively involved with state bar association work, serving as chairperson of both the Georgia Board of Bar Examiners and the Commission on Continuing Lawyer Competency and as a member of the National MPT/MEE Committee of the National Conference of Bar Examiners, according to the ABI’s statement.

Mustakeem earned her law degree at Georgia State University College of Law.

In addition to Mustakeem’s appointment, the ABI named Ruben Brooks as the company’s chief operating officer.