Ben Chandler, former U.S. Congressman and attorney with Morgan & Pottinger, P.S.C., has been invited to join the University of Kentucky College of Law Hall of Fame. Chandler and the other 2014 inductees will be honored in June at an alumni reception in conjunction with the Kentucky Bar Association Convention.
The UK College of Law Hall of Fame Award is the highest honor presented jointly by the College and the UK Law Alumni Association. Chandler joins a prestigious group of past inductees, which includes distinguished alumni who made significant contributions in their own particular field of work or for the betterment of humanity, and former faculty members who taught at the UK College of Law for at least 20 years.
Chandler provides counsel for M&P clients on civil and criminal legal issues arising from government regulation, as well as crisis management and general legal consulting services. He supports several of the firm’s practice areas, including banking and finance, business law and litigation, white collar crimes and equine law.
A 1986 graduate of the UK College of Law, Chandler joined M&P after a 21-year career in politics. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives for Kentucky’s sixth congressional district from February 2004 through January 2013. Prior to his work as a Congressman, Chandler was the Attorney General of Kentucky (1996-2004) and the Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts (1992-1996).
As Attorney General, Chandler was involved in Phase I and Phase II of the Cigarette Manufacturers Settlement generating hundreds of millions of dollars for Kentucky over a 25-year span and a separate pool of dollars that went directly to Kentucky farmers. He was also responsible for the establishment of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky following a $45 million settlement.
Chandler is also executive director of the Kentucky Humanities Council. An independent nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, D.C., the Council tells Kentucky’s story and promotes the state’s culture.
An eighth generation Woodford County native, Chandler lives on land that has been in his family since 1784. He graduated with distinction from the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and a Juris Doctor from the UK College of Law. Chandler opened a private law practice before beginning his career in politics.
M&P’s John McGarvey and Chandler’s grandfather, A.B. “Happy” Chandler, are also members of the UK College of Law Hall of Fame.
