North Georgia Conference Welcomes New Conference Chancellor Harold Buckley Jr.

The North Georgia Conference welcomes a new Conference Chancellor this month, Harold Buckley, Jr.

He follows Jim Thornton who has served as Chancellor since 2017. Thornton steps away from the role as he takes on a new role as the director of Governmental Relations for the Georgia Municipal Association.

Buckley is the Managing Member of the firm Wilson, Brock, and Irby, LLC in Atlanta and an active member of Columbia Drive UMC in Decatur. 

Buckley’s primary practice area is state and local government law, with an emphasis on land use and economic development. He received his law degree from the Georgia State University College of Law (J.D, 2002), his graduate degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology (M.C.P., 1995) and his undergraduate degree from Tuskegee University (B.Arch., 1993). 

Buckley is also a member of the faculty at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of City and Regional Planning, where he teaches graduate-level land use law. 

The role of chancellor is defined and required by the Book of Discipline. The chancellor is a legal adviser to the bishop and officers of the Annual Conference.

The work varies from dealing with property issues, to drafting standing rules, to significant investigations to try to determine facts in disputes. Most importantly, sometimes the work is to simply be the face of the church.

At the 2023 Annual Conference session, the conference will have the opportunity to thank Thornton for his service and welcome Buckley.