Lawyers make up more than half of a 13-member task force, charged with reviewing the city of Atlanta’s ethics, transparency and compliance policies and procedures, that is set to hold its first meeting Tuesday night.

Leah Ward Sears, the former state Supreme Court chief justice who is now a partner at Smith Gambrell & Russell, chairs the group. The other seven task force members who are lawyers are:

  • Derek M. Alphran, described in a city press release as a “Recognized Member of Academia” but who is also a professor at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School and a lawyer with Hilliard Starkey Law;
  • O.V. Brantley, a retired Fulton County and DeKalb County government attorney;
  • Linda K. DiSantis, a retired former city attorney;
  • William S. Duffy Jr., a retired federal judge now with JAMS alternative dispute resolution service;
  • Lawton Jordan of Williams Teusink, also described a city resident;
  • Michael Sterling, a former prosecutor who was an adviser to then-Mayor Kasim Reed; and
  • Joe. D. Whitley of Baker Donelson, a former federal prosecutor and general counsel to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.