NASHVILLE (AP) — Paul Ney, a former legal counsel to the Tennessee Republican Party, has been named chief deputy to state Attorney General Hebert Slatery.

Slatery said in a release Thursday that Ney will supervise the legal work of all five sections of the attorney general's office.

Ney was a finalist to fill a vacancy in the chancery court of Davidson County, but Republican Gov. Bill Haslam chose Associate State Attorney General Bill Young for the position.

Ney has been a prating attorney for more than 30 years, most recently working in private practice for an intellectual property firm. He previously worked as a lawyer for the Department of Defense and the Department of the Navy.

Ney succeeds Chief Deputy Lucy Honey Haynes, who recently retired.