Gus Puryear, a 32-year-old veteran of the Washington political scene, joins the executive management team of Corrections Corporation of America (CXW) on Monday as its general counsel.

The former associate with Farris Warfield & Kanaday will be responsible for such matters at the prison operator as managing litigation currently lodged against the company, devising plans to avoid future legal problems, offering general legal advise and, possibly in the future, participating in some of CCA's government relations work.

"It's a great challenge and thrill to come to a company that had such a rocky year and now has a solid management team in place in which I have a great deal of confidence," Mr. Puryear told NashvillePost.com from Washington, D.C., where he is winding up his duties as legislative director for Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn).

"I trust (Gus') judgment and relied on him to handle a number of important and sensitive issues," Sen. Frist said in a release. "He had a bright future in Washington, but Nashville and CCA will benefit greatly from his return."

Prior to joining Sen. Frist's office in February 1998, Mr. Puryear served on Sen. Fred Thompson's (R-Tenn) campaign finance investigation committee.

Most recently, he served five weeks as a member of a small group that prepared Vice President-elect Dick Cheney for his debate with Sen. Joe Lieberman. That role came about in part as a result of Mr. Puryear's success as a high school and college debater. He was the 1985 Georgia state champion representing Westminster School in Atlanta and was the top speaker at the high school national tournament. At Emory University, he placed third in the national debate tournament.