Beth Chandler says she didn’t graduate from the University of Georgia School of Law aiming for a career as an in-house attorney, but that’s what she’s built.

She was a partner at Troutman Sanders but worked exclusively for the firm’s longtime client Southern Co. when the energy giant prepared to spin off Mirant Corp. Chandler became assistant general counsel and corporate secretary at Mirant, then went to serve as Atlanta’s city attorney under then-Mayor Shirley Franklin. Then, Chandler was general counsel, vice president, corporate secretary and chief compliance officer at Asbury Automotive Group Inc. before taking a sabbatical, at the end of which she became general counsel at Rollins Inc., the Atlanta-based pest control stalwart.