Denver Water announced this week that Jessica Brody will be the utility’s new general counsel, succeeding Patti Wells, who announced in February that she planned to retire when a replacement was on board.

Wells had been a lawyer for Denver Water since 1991. Brody comes over from the Denver City Attorney’s Office, where she has been assistant director since 2016, supervising a team of city attorneys. She will begin at Denver Water on Aug. 7.

“We are very excited that Jessica will be joining Denver Water as the fifth attorney to fill this distinguished role,” Jim Lochhead, Denver Water’s manager and CEO, said in a statement. “Jessica has broad municipal experience, working with agencies ranging from public health to public works, as well as the mayor’s office and city council. Coupled with her experience in environmental law and complex litigation, and expert knowledge of regulatory matters, Jessica a perfect fit to guide Denver Water into the future.”

Brody graduated from Yale Law School in 2003, where she was the editor-in-chief of the Yale Law and Policy Review. She has worked for the city and county of Denver for five years and represented the city in environmental litigation. Before that, she specialized in environmental law for an international law firm.

Wells was the first woman to hold the job of chief counsel for the state’s largest residential water utility. She too served as city attorney and deputy city attorney for Denver from 1983 to 1991.

“Patti Wells has provided wise counsel to Denver Water for so many years and is a visionary leader on Colorado water issues,” Gov. John Hickenlooper, said in a statement when Wells announced her plans to step down. “She has been instrumental as a member of the Colorado Water Conservation Board building bridges across the state in developing the Colorado Water Plan. Her leadership style helped in the groundbreaking Colorado River Cooperative Agreement that brought together both sides of the Continental Divide and resolved longstanding challenges.”