Ummm??!! – This all sounds a bit fishy.
Yahoo News
In 2020, Lexington attorney Mary Ann Miranda represented a young woman suing the University of Kentucky in U.S. District Court for disability discrimination.
Mary Ann Miranda is Associate General Counsel for Academics, Finance, Students, and Athletics.
Before joining the Office of Legal Counsel, Ms. Miranda advised the federal bench for fourteen years as a term and career law clerk for the Hon. Joseph M. Hood in the Eastern District of Kentucky. She also counseled and litigated on behalf of business and individual clients on a wide range of matters sounding in state and federal law while practicing in the commercial litigation group in the Nashville office of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell, & Berkowitz PC, and in her own solo practice.
A native of Ashland, Kentucky, Ms. Miranda received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Transylvania University, where she majored in English Literature and French Language and Literature. She received her law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School.
B.A., Transylvania University
J.D., Vanderbilt University Law School
https://legal.uky.edu/people/mary-ann-miranda
The next year, a judge tossed out the lawsuit at UK’s request after Miranda missed important deadlines, including her chance to respond to UK’s motion for dismissal. As the case went off the rails, Miranda didn’t return her client’s worried calls, emails and texts, according to court records.
Once UK prevailed, things got worse for Miranda.
The judge rebuked her in writing for her inaction. The Kentucky Bar Association pursued misconduct complaints against her because of the UK suit and another bungled assignment, an estate case where she took a family’s money but didn’t perform the work, respond to the family’s concerns or return their father’s will.
On Dec. 14, 2023, the Kentucky Supreme Court handed down a 181-day license suspension, probated for two years, on the conditions that Miranda enter the Kentucky Lawyer Assistance Program for close supervision and avoid any further misconduct.
In the midst of all this, UK offered Miranda a job.
Today she’s paid $150,665 a year as an associate general counsel at the university that thwarted her disabled client.
“My colleagues and I at the University of Kentucky have enjoyed our conversations with you and believe you would be an excellent fit in the Office of Legal Counsel. Your experience and credentials appear to be a great match for this position, and I very much look forward to you joining our team,” UK General Counsel William Thro wrote to Miranda on Sept. 16, 2022.
Two days earlier, the Kentucky Bar Association Inquiry Commission issued four formal charges of professional misconduct against Miranda. She later admitted to them.
The charges included failure to act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client; failure to keep her client informed about the status of a case; failure to return a client’s file when asked; and failure to respond to a lawful demand for information from the Kentucky Bar Association.
Miranda, 49, did not respond to repeated calls and emails seeking comment for this story.
She was licensed to practice law in Kentucky in 2003. Prior to joining UK, she was self-employed at her own solo firm in Lexington.
UK defended its decision to hire Miranda in a brief statement to the Herald-Leader.
“The general counsel at the University of Kentucky determined that Ms. Miranda was the most qualified person among the applicants for the open position. It is not unusual at all for a firm or an institution to hire counsel who at one point opposed that firm or institution on a matter,” UK spokesman Jay Blanton wrote.
“At the time that Ms. Miranda applied for the position, the KBA had not begun its formal inquiry,” Blanton added.
“The university was aware of her conduct in the case involving UK and explored the reasons for her behavior as part of the interview process,” Blanton wrote. “The general counsel was satisfied with the explanation for her behavior and that the causes of the behavior — mental illness — were behind her. Both federal and state law prohibit the university from refusing to hire someone simply because of a mental illness in the past.”
Disability lawsuit dismissed
“Jane Doe,” as she is identified in court filings, was a National Merit Scholar. She graduated from high school in Wexford, Pa., in June 2018, and accepted a four-year honors scholarship to attend UK, plus a stipend to cover her room and board on campus.
But Doe has a life-threatening allergy to dairy products made from cow milk. It severely limits her diet. After she finalized her plans, she couldn’t get a direct answer from UK on when, or even if, dairy-free meals would be available to her, she said in her subsequent court filings.
In response, UK insisted it offered Doe reasonable accommodations for her dietary restrictions.
Source:/ Read more
https://www.yahoo.com/news/lawyer-bungled-lawsuit-against-uk-093000089.html
