DeKalb committee confirms William Lankus III as county attorney

The DeKalb County Operations Committee advanced the chief executive’s nomination of William Lankus III to serve as county attorney and voted to forward the confirmation to the Board of Commissioners, with members saying they supported his experience and management approach.

The CEO introduced William Lankus III as the nominee and told commissioners he has served as county attorney in DeKalb, Gwinnett and Hall counties. Lankus told the committee he appreciated the opportunity and said he looks forward to ‘‘serving in DeKalb again.’’

The committee questioned Lankus on his leadership style, supervision and the office’s relationship to elected officials. Lankus said he is ‘‘not a micromanager’’ and described a five-prong approach he said would guide the law department: skill, service, cost control, ethics and professionalism. ‘‘We need high skill both in the law and facts to be able to produce the highest quality legal work for the county,’’ he said. He added that communication with elected officials is an area he continuously seeks to improve.

Lankus told commissioners he would treat ‘‘DeKalb County’’ as the ultimate client and said the office should deliver the same legal advice to both the CEO’s office and the board. On the possibility of competing legal interests, he said the county should identify conflicts early and, if necessary, retain outside counsel for one or both sides or seek an outside legal opinion such as from the attorney general.

Several commissioners asked how Lankus would staff and mentor the office. He described hands‑on mentoring, continuing legal education and a goal of building a diverse team with the skills to handle municipal law matters. He also said the county attorney’s office could serve as parliamentarian unless the county hires a separate professional for that role.

Commissioners asked whether the previously announced arrangement — to dedicate an attorney in the county attorney’s office to support the board of commissioners full time — would continue. Lankus told the committee he ‘‘has no problems with that agreement’’ and said he expected to identify the right person within ‘‘two weeks or 30 days at the most’’ after taking the position.

A motion to confirm the nomination was made in committee and approved; the nomination will be presented for final confirmation by the full Board of Commissioners. The committee record shows an affirmative voice vote in favor.

What’s next: The nomination will appear on the Board of Commissioners agenda for formal confirmation and onboarding if approved by the board.