Gov. Brian Kemp named a new solicitor general for Troup County Thursday to succeed newly appointed Coweta Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Nina Markette Baker.

Sandra H. Taylor will move up to fill the shoes of her former boss.

“As chief assistant solicitor and former private practice attorney, Sandra Taylor has always shown great integrity, skill, and dedication to the citizens of her community,” Kemp said in a news release. “I look forward to Sandra continuing her laudable service to Troup County as solicitor general.”

Taylor has served as chief assistant solicitor general since 2013. Previously, she led her own private practice in LaGrange for 24 years. She focused on criminal, civil and commercial litigation, representing both plaintiffs and defendants. She earned her bachelor's degree from Emory University and a law degree from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University. She's been a member of the State Bar of Georgia since 1986.

Taylor has served as a board member of the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice since 2004. She is the current vice chair of that board. She also is chairman of the board of the Calumet Center for Healing and Attachment. She is a member of the Rotary Club and the First Baptist Church of LaGrange.

The Georgia Association of Solicitors-General chose Baker as “Solicitor-General of the Year” in 2017. On that occasion, Taylor told the LaGrange Daily News that Baker was recognized “based on her innovation with the courts here.” Taylor added, “We had some of the first accountability courts in Georgia.” Taylor said the county's DUI courts sought to address the issues of substance abuse in cases the solicitor general's office prosecuted.