Making the rules will be one of the first tasks for Jones Day partner Walter W. Davis when he takes his new job in January as the first judge of the Georgia Statewide Business Court.

To help write those rules, Davis has recruited eight lawyers to serve on an inaugural rules commission, taking pains to find a balance of age, experience, background, and perspective from different parts of the state. He's included big firm business litigators, smaller firm partners, a law professor and a judge.

The enabling legislation for the court gives the judge responsibility for "creating and when needed making revisions to the rules" and "submitting such rules and revisions" to the Georgia Supreme Court for approval. To aid in that task, the judge is "authorized to empanel a commission of up to eight individuals," according to House Bill 239. They may be judges or not. The only requirement is that they not be compensated for their work — other than for expenses.

Since the judiciary committees of the Georgia House of Representatives and Senate confirmed him for the new job in August, Davis has been looking for a select group of lawyers willing to give their time to the work of writing the rules for the new court.

Davis said he is looking to the commission to provide support and advice as well as rules for the court. He also views the group as an important link to litigators across the state who may want to file cases that meet the parameters for the new court. He also wanted a mix of practice experience, location and ages.

"Next to hiring a top-notch staff, the rules commission was the most important strategic priority for me," Davis said.

The judge to be is still working on assembling the court's staff, including identifying a clerk for the new court, who — once selected — will undergo the same appointment and confirmation process that Davis went through last summer. 

Davis has also taken on the work of spreading the word about the new court.

"When I accepted the appointment, I knew that one of the big challenges would be to ensure that lawyers and their clients across the state — individuals and businesses alike — know about the court, and understand why it was created and how it can benefit them," Davis said Wednesday. "To me that means never turning down an opportunity to meet with, or speak to, judges, bar associations, civic organizations, chambers of commerce, colleges and universities, and the like. And I've been really pleased with how many of these individual groups have proactively reached out. There is a lot of interest in the court out there, and I have been overjoyed with the support I have received across the state." 

Another work in progress is the design of the new court offices, which are to be built inside the almost-finished Nathan Deal Judicial Center.

But Davis said he now has in place a rules commission made up of "supremely qualified individuals."

"I am still amazed that everyone I asked to serve did so without hesitation," Davis said. "It's a very heavy lift to get this done in the next few months, and they each deserve a ton of credit for their willingness to serve. It's really a testament to them." 

The inaugural members of the Georgia Business Court Rules Commission are: Jessica Perry Corley, William P. "Will" Horkan, Lester B. Johnson III, Usha Rodrigues, J. Stephen "Steve" Schuster, Rocco E. Testani, Robert A. "Bob" Watts, and Joel O. Wooten.

Corley is a partner in the Atlanta office of King & Spalding, where she concentrates her practice on securities and complex commercial litigation, including class actions, derivative suits, and mergers and acquisitions. She has bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Louisville. She's been a member of the State Bar of Georgia since 2001.

Horkan is a partner with James Bates Brannan Groover in Macon. He represents individuals, businesses, and local governments in civil matters such as agricultural, business, employment, contract disputes and insurance claims, including crop insurance. He has a degree in agribusiness from the University of Georgia and a law degree from Mercer University law school in 2009.

Johnson has his own firm in Savannah. He handles matters related to education, municipal government, insurance, personal injury, veteran's benefits and probate law. Since 1982, he has served as an assistant city attorney for the city of Savannah and since 1991 he has served as school board attorney for the Savannah-Chatham County Board of Education. He is also a special assistant attorney general for the Georgia Department of Corrections and Transportation. In 2015, he was appointed to a two-year term on the Judicial Qualification Commission, the body that disciplines Georgia judges. He graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 1975 and received his law degree from the University of Miami School of Law in 1978.

Rodrigues is a contracts and business ethics professor at the University of Georgia School of Law. Before moving to Athens, Rodrigues was a corporate associate with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Reston, Virginia, where she specialized in corporate law and technology transactions. She also served as a law clerk to Judge Thomas L. Ambro of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She earned a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University, a master's degree in comparative literature from the University of Wisconsin and a law degree from the University of Virginia.

Schuster is a judge on the Cobb County Superior Court, where he has served since 2005. He has served as chief judge there. Previously, he served as a Juvenile Court judge. He started his career as a prosecutor in both the district attorney and the solicitor general offices. Then he practiced law with his own firm in Marietta. He is a founding member of the American College of Business Court Judges and has served as president. He is active in the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association. Schuster is a graduate of Tulane University with a degree in economics. He earned a law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1976.

Testani is a partner with Eversheds Sutherland in Atlanta. He is co-leader of the firm's business and commercial litigation team. He leads the education sector team and is a member of the firm's executive committee. He has represented state and local government officials across the country in school finance matters, including education funding and adequacy litigation. Testani also represents clients in litigation ranging from complex business disputes to civil rights and constitutional law. He has a bachelor's degree from Emory University and a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School. He joined the State Bar of Georgia in 1992.

Watts is a commercial litigator in the Atlanta office of Jones Day. He is the lone associate on the commission, helping to fulfill the goal of offering age diversity to the group's decision making. Before attending law school, he was a legislative assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives. Gov. Brian Kemp appointed him this year to serve as a member of the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Georgia in 2010 and a law degree from Georgia State University in 2014.

Wooten is a founding partner at Butler Wooten & Peak of Columbus, Atlanta and Savannah. He has served as lead counsel in class action, trucking, product liability and motor vehicle cases. He has handled commercial litigation as well as asbestos, medical, pharmaceutical, toxic tort and environmental cases. He is a board member of the Georgia Ports Authority and a board member and vice chairman of the Jasper Ocean Terminal Board. He has served as chairman of the University System of Georgia Board of Regents. He also serves as chairman of the Business Court Committee of the State Bar of Georgia. Wooten graduated from the University of Georgia in 1972 with a B.B.A. degree. He earned a law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1975.