TO BE PUBLISHED 

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.2017-SC-000312-KB 

KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION MOVANT 

V. IN SUPREME COURT 

KENNETH JOSEPH BADER RESPONDENT 

OPINION AND ORDER 

The Kenttjcky Bar Association ("KBA") moves this Court, pursuant to 

SCRl 3.380(2), to suspend Respondent, Kenneth Joseph Bader, KBA Number 

02455, for failure to Answer the.Charge in KBA file 16-DIS-0304. Respondent 

rnaintairis a bar roster address at 544 Baxter Avenue, Suite 200, Louisville, 

Kentucky 40204. KBA·file lq-DIS-0304 concerns Respondent's failure to 

answer a Bar Complaint filed by his former client, Linda Mattingly, with respect 

to his mishandling of her personal injury case. The Jefferson County Sheriff's 

Department personally served Respondent with the Bar Complaint on 

November 30, 2016. After Respondent failed to file_a,n Answe~ to the 

Complaint, the Inquiry Commission issued a three-count Charge against him, 

on February 16, 2017, alleging a violation of SCR 3.130(1.3), which req~ires a 

1 Supreme Court Rules. 
lawyer to act with reasonable diligence and promptness in the representation of 

a client. Respondent violated this Rule when he failed to perform any work in 

· his client's personal injury case for approximately two years until its dismissal. 

Respondent was also charged with violating SCR 3.130(1.4)(a)(3), which 

requires an attorney to keep his clients informed about the status of their case. 

Respondent violated this Rule when he failed to inform his client her personal 

injury case had been dismissed. Finally, Respondent was charged with 

violating SCR 3.130(8.l)(b), which requires a lawyer to respond to a lawful 

demand for information from a disciplinary authority. Respondent violated this 

Rule by failing to respond to the Bar Complaint. The Jefferson County Sheriffs 

Department personally served Respondent with the three-count Charge, yet he 

failed to file an Answer, and has not participated in any stage of these 

proceedings. 

This matter is not the first time Respondent has been. cited and 

disciplined for his misconduct as a practicing attorney. Recently, this Court 

found Respondent guilty of one count of violating SCR 3.130(3.4)(c) for 

knowingly disobeying an obligation under the rules of a tribunal, and one 

count of SCR 3.130(8. l)(b) for failing to respond to a lawful demand for 

information from a disciplinary authority.· Ky. Bar Assoc. v. Bader, -- S.W.3d --

, 2017 WL 4310500 (Ky. Sept. 28, 2017). Notably, Respondent likewise failed to 

participate in that disciplinary proceeding. Because of his ·committed ·, . . 

violations, w~ suspended Respondent from the practice of law for a period of 

thirty (30) days. 

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Similarly, in 2014, Respondent received a private reprimand for the 

foilowing: 1) viofa.ting SCR 3.130-1.3 by failing to file a client's bankruptcy 

petition irt a timely manner; 2) violating SCR 3.130-1.4(a)(2) by failing to tell his 

client that he was not filing her bankruptcy petition because she had not paid 

his fee; and 3) violating SCR 3.130-1.4(a)(3) by failing to respond to his client's 

requests for infonriation about her bankruptcy proceedings. 

Here~ Respondent's miscondu~t in KBA file 16-DIS-0304 in large part 

mirrors that for which he has been previously disciplined, and indicates 

repeated noncompliance with the rules of his chosen profession. In the case of 

Ky. Bar Assoc. v. Benton, 449 S.W.3d 368 (KY: 2014), this Court exercised its 

discrcrtion, pursuant to SCR 3.380, to suspend Benton indefinitely until he 

appeared and accounted for his failure to answer the disciplinary charges. 

Likewise, here we believe that indefinite suspension of Respondent's license to 

practice law is warranted until he appears and accounts for his behavior. 

ACCORDINGLY, IT IS ORDERED THAT: 

.. 

I. Respondent, Kenneth Joseph Bader, is ~ound guilty of violating SCR 

3.130(1.3), SCR 3.130(1.4)(a)(3),.and SCR 3.130(8. l)(b). 

2. Respondent is suspended from the practice of law indefinitely. 

3. As required by SCR 3.390, Respondent will, if he has not already done 

so, within 10 days after issuance of this order of suspension from the 

practice of law for more than 60 days, notify, by letter duly placed with 

the United States Postal Service, all courts or other tribunals in which he 

has matters pending, and all clients of his inability to represent them 

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and of the necessity and urgency to promptly obtain new counsel. 

Respondent shall simultaneously provide a copy of all such letters of 

· notification to the Office of Bar Counsel. Respondent shall immediately 

cancel any pending advertisements, fo the extent possible, and shall 

terminate an:y advertising activity for the duration of the term of 

suspension. 

4. Respond~nt is instructed to pro~ptly take all reasonable steps to protect 

the.irtterests of his clients. He shall not, during the term of suspension, 

accept new clients o.r collect unearned fees, and he shall comply with the 

provisions of SCR 3.130-7.50(5). 

5. In accordance with SCR 3.450, Respondent is directed to pay all costs 

· associated with these disciplinaxy proceedings against him, for which 

execution may issue from this Court upon finality of this Opinion and 

Order. 

All sitting. All concur. 

ENTERED: November 2, 2017. 

CH 

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