LaTonya Nix Wiley
Senior Partner
LaTonya Nix Wiley is a seasoned government law attorney and trusted advisor to public sector leadership, now serving as a Senior Partner at The Starkey Law Group, where she leads within the Local Government Practice Group. With over two decades of distinguished legal experience, LaTonya brings unmatched expertise in municipal law, employment law, public policy, infrastructure development, bond financing and regulatory compliance, earning her a statewide reputation for excellence and results-driven counsel.
A proud Atlanta native, LaTonya earned her Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy from Emory University and her Juris Doctor from Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law. Her legal career reflects a deep commitment to ethical governance, public accountability, and strategic legal solutions.
Her public service includes roles as Chief Legal Counsel to Henry County, Georgia, the state’s eighth largest county, where she led a full-service in-house legal department and advised the Board of Commissioners, constitutional officers, and agency heads on land use, intergovernmental relations, taxation, employment, and constitutional law. Among her many successes, LaTonya led the FAA-compliant acquisition of Tara Field Airport, negotiated major intergovernmental service delivery strategy (SDS) agreements, drafted legislative measures for the General Assembly, and directed complex bond and tax litigation.
LaTonya also served as Deputy Ethics Officer for DeKalb County, where she launched a comprehensive ethics compliance program, enforced conflicts-of-interest regulations and conducted training for hundreds of officials and staff members on government transparency and accountability.
In the private sector, LaTonya most recently served as Of Counsel with Denmark Ashby, LLC, where she represented institutional clients including the City of Jonesboro, City of Camilla Clayton County Public Schools, Stockbridge Development Authority, Clayton County Water Authority and the College Park Building and Industrial Development Authority. Her role involved broad-based legal services including procurement, litigation defense, real estate, condemnations, bond finance transactions and property development negotiations, public meeting protocols and board governance. She is widely regarded as a leading expert in condemnation law, having personally and successfully handled over $150 million in condemnation projects tied to key land acquisitions for her respective clients.
LaTonya’s legal advocacy spans both advisory and courtroom roles, routinely defending cities and counties in state and federal court, overseeing outside litigation teams, and managing sensitive matters related to employment law, land use, public finance, ethics complaints, open records, and election disputes. She has won two (2) groundbreaking appellate cases that have redefined municipal law in Georgia.
LaTonya has conducted extensive board and staff training on Georgia’s Open Records and Open Meetings Acts, the Georgia Whistleblower Act, public procurement rules, and federal laws including Title VII, ADA, FMLA, and FLSA. She is also known for her strategic legal planning for economic development authorities and public-private partnerships.
She is admitted to practice before all Georgia trial and appellate courts and the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Georgia. She currently serves on the Fulton County Board of Ethics and is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Outside the courtroom, LaTonya is a dedicated mother, creative writer, and sports enthusiast who enjoys tennis, soccer, and football. Her elevation to Senior Partner at The Starkey Law Group is the culmination of a 20+ year career defined by integrity, advocacy, and commitment to principled public service for the benefit of the firm and its institutional clients.
Bar Admissions
- State of Georgia
Education
- Emory University, BA
- Walter F. George School of Law, Mercer University, J.D.
