Cobb County State Court Clerk Angie T. Davis has been chosen to be clerk of the new Statewide Business Court in Georgia. (Courtesy photo)

The Georgia House of Representatives and Senate judiciary committees unanimously confirmed Gov. Brian Kemp's appointment of Angie Davis as the clerk of the new statewide business court Tuesday.

"With over thirty years of experience, Angie Davis will bring invaluable court management expertise to this statewide court," Kemp said in a written statement Tuesday evening after the confirmation. "It is an honor to nominate her for this important role, and I know she will play a pivotal role in the court's long-term success."

The legislative committees met jointly at the Capitol to confirm Davis—just as they did a year ago to confirm the governor's choice as judge of the court, former Jones Day partner Walt Davis. (The clerk and the judge are not related.)

The confirmation process is unique in Georgia, where judges for statewide appellate courts and superior and state courts are elected—as are superior court clerks. It was set up by the legislation that created the court—which is set to become active on Aug. 1. The first business day of the month is Monday. The court's first transactions will be online and virtual—not just because of the coronavirus pandemic but because of the technology available.

Angie Davis is the longtime clerk of Cobb County State Court. She took that job in 2013 after serving as chief deputy clerk for 13 years. Previously, she served as clerk and court administrator of the Cobb County Magistrate Court. She attended Cobb County public schools before earning her bachelor's degree in English from Georgia Southern University in 1991 and a masters in public administration from Kennesaw State University in 1996. She presided over the modernization of the court record system, moving from paper to electronic files. Cobb State Court is one of the state's busiest for civil litigation, with a high concentration of Fortune 500 companies locating their registered agents there.

"Angie's confirmation will give litigants great comfort that the Business Court has a capable, forward-thinking, and nimble leader in the Clerk's office," Walt Davis said after the vote. "As I mentioned in my remarks, the Clerk is the conscience and caretaker of the Court in so many ways that the public does not see and, perhaps, cannot fully appreciate. We are really fortunate that someone of Angie's caliber agreed to take on this challenge, and we are so much the better for it."

The judge credited the governor and the Judiciary Committees—particularly Chairmen Jesse Stone for the Senate and Barry Fleming for the House—for efficiency with the appointment and confirmation.

"With their action today, the Joint Committee ensured that the Business Court will be well-positioned when it opens on Monday, with our full team assembled, and ready for whatever comes at us," Walt Davis said.

The team includes Senior Staff Attorney E. Lynette Jimenez. She was previously program director and staff attorney for the Metro Atlanta Business Case Division of the Fulton County Superior Court. She earned her J.D. in 2014 from Georgia State University School of Law. She also has a GSU MBA and a bachelor's in Spanish and international business. 

"Lynette is perfectly suited for the challenge of starting up the new Business Court," Walt Davis said. "Of course, she comes to the Business Court with both a JD-MBA and having served as the program director and staff attorney for the Metro Atlanta Business Case Division for three years. That alone made her resume unlike any other out there. And in many respects her new role will very much mirror her old one—she will be equal parts staff attorney and court administrator. The only difference is she's starting from scratch."

The judge said the new clerk's hearing testimony came with a sense of history.

"As Angie noted a few times during her hearing, there are going to be a lot of eyes on the court, watching whether it's up to the task, trying to determine whether it was worth the investment, seeing whether we are able to fulfill the vision for the Court that we all had coming into this—specifically about how we will operate, how we will engage with the public, how we will take advantage of our technological capabilities, and how on some level how we will be different from other business courts around the country," Walt Davis said. "I had a very real sense of this coming into this job, and I knew that, if I had one blind spot, it was that I have never run a court before. So, it was very important to me to have someone in Lynette's role who not only had terrific judgment, top-notch writing skills and the like, but also someone who had done the job at a very high level. So, just as with Angie, to have someone of Lynette's caliber and background join the Court from its inception was extremely important."

The judge said the clerk and the staff attorney will likely have more interactions with the public in general than he will.

"So in many respects, starting Monday, they become the day-to-day ambassadors of the court to our customer base, not me," Walt Davis said. "Looking back to a year ago when this journey first started, I don't think I could have imagined starting the court with two better people than Angie and Lynette, and I don't think it will take long for the public to come to appreciate that as well."