ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp announced a new Superior Court judge for the Tift Judicial Circuit on Friday.

Ralph W. Powell of Worth County will fill a new judgeship created by House Bill 906, which passed the Legislature in this year’s session and was signed by the governor in April.

Powell currently serves as the State Court judge of Worth County, the Municipal Court judge of the cities of Poulan and Warwick and the county attorney for Worth County. He is a managing member of Wilmot & Powell, LLC. As a member of his firm, Powell maintains a general practice of law with a focus on real estate, estate planning, and the probating of wills and estates.

A native of Georgia, Powell has been practicing law for over 30 years. He spent the first 15 years of his practice in Athens, Georgia, where he served as the solicitor general of Clarke County from 2000 to 2005. In 2005, Powell and his family relocated to south Georgia and live on the Powell family farm in Worth County, which has been in the family name for over 150 years. During the first 10 years of his practice there, he focused on insurance defense work, mainly litigating medical malpractice cases.

Powell earned an Associate of Arts degree from Oxford College of Emory University, a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from Georgia State University, and a law degree from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Heather, have one daughter.