Gov. Nathan Deal and Attorney General Sam Olens today announced the appointment of special assistant attorneys general to defend Georgia in the new water-related lawsuit that Florida has filed in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Seth Waxman of WilmerHale and Chris Landau and Craig Primis of Kirkland & Ellis LLP will lead the litigation team, which will also include longtime Georgia water litigators Bruce Brown, Todd Silliman and John Allen.

“It is time for Florida to stop playing politics and start negotiating in good faith,” said Deal. “Scarcely one year has passed since the U.S. Supreme Court ended Florida’s last unsuccessful lawsuit, which lasted more than 20 years. That lawsuit cost all three states millions of dollars and obstructed meaningful natural resource planning for decades. I call on Florida to dismiss this lawsuit and return to the negotiating table.”

“We did not seek this lawsuit, but we will defend Georgia vigorously,” said Olens. “I have great faith in every member of this excellent legal team, and Georgians should be confident that their interests are being well-represented.”