Director & Prosecutors
The City of Athens Law Department is under the direction of Law Director Lisa Eliason. Assisting her are Chief City Prosecutor Tracy Meek, and City Prosecutors Jesse Branner Hittle and Justin Townley.
The director of law is an elected position and is responsible for providing legal support and advice to city officials, as well as city boards and commissions.
The city prosecutors are responsible for prosecuting misdemeanor crimes committed in the City of Athens and in the unincorporated areas of Athens County.
About the Director
Lisa Eliason is a 1976 graduate of Ohio University where she earned a degree in special education. Ms. Eliason taught special education classes at Trimble Local School District and other school districts around Ohio for eight years. She graduated from the University of Dayton School of Law in 1987 and served as a law clerk in the Second District and Fourth District Court of Appeals until 1990. Ms. Eliason then joined the Office of the Law Director and served as an Athens City Prosecutor until August of 1993. From 1993 until 1996, she was in private practice with the law firm of Walker and Walker Co., L.P.A. and served as the Chauncey Village Prosecutor. Ms. Eliason returned to the Office of the Law Director in February of 1996 and served as an Athens City Prosecutor until February 2015, when she was appointed to Athens City Law Director. Ms. Eliason was subsequently elected to that position. She also instructed paralegal students at the Tri-County Joint Vocational School from 1991 to 1998.