Law Department

Matthew C. Welch (he/him) has served as Deputy County Attorney with the DeKalb County Law Department since 2018. Mr. Welch came to the DeKalb County Law Department in 2014 as a member of our infrastructure team, primarily assigned to the County’s ongoing Consent Decree related to the County’s sanitary sewer infrastructure. In his role as Deputy County Attorney, Mr. Welch serves as the County’s lead negotiator in the proposed modification of the Consent Decree. Mr.

Nicole W. Aigner is a Senior Assistant County Attorney in the Infrastructure Division.  She primarily represents the Department of Watershed Management.

Terry Phillips is a Deputy County Attorney in the DeKalb County Law Department, where he provides advice and counsel to County departments and officials, including the Chief Executive’s Office, Board of Commissioners, Public Safety, Human Resources, and Purchasing and Contracting.  His practice includes litigation, negotiation, training staff, and drafting a variety of legal documents including plea

Nikisha "Niki" L. McDonald (she/her) is the Supervising County Attorney of the Law Department’s Public Safety Group.

John E. Jones, Jr. (he/him) is the Supervising County Attorney of the Law Department’s Infrastructure and Development Group. Mr. Jones has served in the Law Department since 2006, where his practice areas of concentration are zoning and land use. He routinely provides legal opinions to county representatives and department heads and represents DeKalb County in commercial and residential tax appeals and other litigation.

Laura K. Johnson (she/her) is a Deputy County Attorney for the DeKalb County Law Department. She supervises all civil litigation and all employment law matters for DeKalb County Government and various County officials.

Terri N. Gordon is the Supervising Attorney of the DeKalb County Law Department's Administrative Group.

Viviane Ernstes is a Deputy County Attorney in the Law Department.  She supervises all county-related transactional work and assists the County Attorney in providing legal advice to the County's elected officials, including the Chief Executive Officer and members of the Board of Commissioners.  Ms.

Bennett Davis Bryan (he/him) is the Supervising County Attorney of the Planning & Development Team, where he provides advice to county agencies and officials involved in zoning, licensing, contracting, code compliance, historic preservation, economic development, and tax-related matters. Specializing in appellate litigation, Mr.

Angela D.