Miami’s controversial former city attorney was named partner at this Florida law firm

Months after she was ousted from her post as the city of Miami’s top municipal lawyer under a cloud of scandal, Victoria Méndez has been named a partner at local law firm Shutts & Bowen — home to Marc Sarnoff, a former Miami city commissioner and politically connected lobbyist who has worked as outside counsel for Commissioner Joe Carollo and the city administration.

On Monday, the firm announced Méndez has joined the Miami office as a partner working in land use and zoning law. She retired in June after she was effectively fired in January when the commission extended her contract for just five months. In April, four of five city commissioners relegated her to a lower position while they searched for a new city attorney, removing her title as city attorney earlier that expected.

A University of Miami School of Law graduate, Méndez spent three years as prosecutor before a 20-year career at City Hall, rising through the ranks and, toward the end of her tenure, attracting controversy. She is accused of abusing her position to orchestrate a house-flipping scheme with her husband, according to a lawsuit that is pending in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. (Méndez has denied those allegations.) The Florida Bar is investigating her in connection with allegations in the lawsuit and her behavior during a City Commission meeting in January, when she called local filmmaker and frequent City Hall critic Billy Corben a “vile little man” during a public hearing.

Méndez has called the lawsuit’s claims “patently false” and said her actions “do not rise to the level of a Florida Bar violation.”

READ MORE: FL bar ramps up investigation into ex-Miami city attorney after ‘vile little man’ comment

Her decision making was also called into question, though Méndez stood by her decision to have the city pay millions for outside attorneys to defend Carollo in multiple lawsuits.

Among those outside attorneys is Sarnoff, one of Méndez’s new colleagues and a land use attorney for Shutts & Bowen.

Sarnoff is a City Hall lobbyist who was tapped to be outside counsel for Carollo in lawsuits against him. Sarnoff has also represented the city in negotiations over a major land deal that saw the owners of Major League Soccer franchise Inter Miami lease public land for 99 years in order to build a sprawling commercial complex with a stadium to host home games.

The former commissioner is also a frequent player in city politics, shoveling tens of thousands in contributions to his favored candidates through a political committee with a name that typically elicits groans in local political circles: “Truth is the Daughter of Time.”

Sarnoff, the only Shutts attorney currently registered to lobby at City Hall, according to city records, did not respond directly to the Miami Herald’s questions about his firm’s decision to take on Méndez as a partner while she faces multiple controversies directly tied to her legal career.

“Shutts is fortunate to get such a well rounded attorney who has more experience in Municipal Government than any City Attorney in the past 30 years,” Sarnoff said. “She equally is an accomplished litigator first gaining her experience from [Miami-Dade State Attorney] Katherine Fernandez Rundle, then as supervising more than 10 litigators at the City. Victoria will have a fruitful career at Shutts.”

In a statement released with the announcement, Méndez said she was “incredibly excited to be part of such a prestigious firm.”

“Shutts & Bowen’s reputation for excellence, combined with their commitment to client service, aligns perfectly with my professional values. I look forward to leveraging my experience to serve our clients with the highest level of dedication.”

In a text message, Méndez ignored the Herald’s questions about the lawsuit and Bar investigation, only reiterating that she is excited to join Shutts.

Following city elections last November, a new-look commission pushed her out as she defiantly defended her record as “longest-serving full-time city attorney, the longest-serving female city attorney, the longest-serving Hispanic city attorney” in the face of “the media and bogus litigation,” according to her farewell speech in April.

She was Miami city attorney for 10 years and supervised more than 60 people.

Alexander Tachmes, chair of Shutts’ land use and zoning practice group, said in a prepared statement that his team was “thrilled” to welcome Méndez to the firm.

“Her extensive experience in all facets of local government law, including land use and zoning, complements our broad range of governmental representation and underscores our role as one of Miami’s premier municipal practice law firms,” Tachmes said.

Criticisms of Méndez have seemingly done little to her reputation among some in the legal community. The Florida Municipal Attorneys Association named her the 2024 Attorney of the Year, a distinction given to the state’s “most outstanding municipal attorney,” in recognition of the recipient’s accomplishments “during the previous year, as well as his or her career contributions to date,” according to the organization’s website.

READ MORE: Controversial former Miami city attorney named state’s municipal ‘Attorney of the Year’