Fulton County Courthouse (Photo: John Disney)

Gov. Nathan Deal on Friday announced that he's chosen Rachel Krause, a partner at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, and Emily Richardson, deputy DeKalb County district attorney, to fill open seats on the Fulton County Superior Court.

Deal chose Krause and Richardson from a six-candidate short list the Judicial Nominations Commission sent him on Dec. 19. The other candidates, selected from 18 interviewed by the JNC, were: Elizabeth A. “Beth” Beskin of Chalmers Burch & Adams; Audra A. Dial, the Atlanta managing partner at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton; Shalanda M.J. Miller, a senior assistant city attorney in the city of Atlanta Department of Law; and Richard S. Moultrie Jr., an assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

The vacancies were created by the retirement of Judge John Goger and Deal's appointment of Judge Todd Markle to the Court of Appeals.

Diversity advocates have criticized Deal for not appointing enough African-Americans and women to bench seats. The JNC's short list for the two Fulton seats, however, included no white men.

Krause and Richardson are white women. Once they are sworn in, the Fulton Superior judges will be seven white women, five African-American women, five white men and three African-American men.

According to the Lewis Brisbois website, Krause is a member of her firm's life health disability and ERISA practice, defending employers and insurance companies in the areas of employment, breach of contracts and restrictive covenants, fiduciary obligations, professional responsibility, and benefits.

Richardson, who used to be an assistant district attorney in the Douglas Judicial Circuit, was on the JNC's short list for an appellate position earlier in 2018.

According to the governor's press release, Krause earned a bachelor's degree from Georgia Southern University and a law degree from Mercer University. Krause and her husband, Thomas, have three children and reside in Atlanta.

Richardson earned a bachelor's degree from Duke University and a law degree from Emory University. Richardson has one child and resides in Atlanta.