Gov. Brian Kemp has appointed a new top prosecutor for the Clayton County Judicial Circuit to succeed former District Attorney Tracy Lawson, who has retired.

Longtime Clayton Solicitor General Tasha M. Mosley is the new DA, Kemp announced Thursday.

"For many years, Tasha has worked tirelessly to serve the Clayton County community as a strong advocate for her constituents, both in and out of the courtroom. She is beloved by her neighbors and peers, highly regarded and respected in the legal profession, and ready to take on this new adventure," Kemp said. "She has the perfect background and personality for this opportunity, and I know that she will excel."

Mosley had widespread support for the promotion, including from Lawson, 61, who retired Aug. 1 after 10 years as DA and 34 years of service to the county.

Mosley earned her bachelor's degree from Southern Methodist University in Texas and law degree from John Marshall Law School. Since 2009, Mosley has served as solicitor general in the State Court of the Clayton County Judicial Circuit, representing more than 259,000 citizens to prosecute misdemeanor crimes, including domestic violence offenses, driving under the influence and theft. She led an office of 38 attorneys, investigators, victim advocates, legal assistants, and legal secretaries.

Mosley previously served as assistant solicitor general from 2006 to 2008 in Henry County, as well as master assistant solicitor general from 2004 to 2006 and assistant solicitor general from 1998 to 2004 in Clayton County.

She practiced law privately from 1996 to 1998.

Mosley earned the 2013 Clayton County Bar Association Community Service Award, the 2015 and 2018 Freddie L. Groomes-McClendon Caring Awards, the 2018 Angela M. Williams Humanitarian Award, the 2018 Regina Crothers from the Heart Award and the 2018 Thompson-Jones Award. She is a member of the State Bar of Georgia's Statewide Judicial Evaluation Committee, Rainbow House executive board and Calvary Refuge Center executive board. She is a former vice chair of the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia, vice president of the Clayton County Bar Association and president of the Solicitor General Association of Georgia.

The Clayton DA's office includes 100 employees and a $7 million annual budget.

During her tenure, Lawson reorganized the office in an effort to achieve quicker case resolution. She created pretrial diversion programs for 3,000 graduates with low recidivism.

Prior to becoming DA, Lawson served as a juvenile court judge for 13 years. Before that, she worked as an assistant district attorney, trying 90 cases before a jury and handling all the appeals.

She served as president of the District Attorneys' Association of Georgia. She was named District Attorney of the Year in 2015.