David Miranda, a former New York State Bar Association president and longtime intellectual property-focused partner at Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti in Albany, has become the bar association’s general counsel.

He is the first newly hired general counsel at the bar association in more than three decades, according to the bar group. He replaces longtime senior counsel Kathleen Baxter, who has been with the bar association for nearly 35 years. Baxter will retire later this year, said Susan De Santis, a bar association spokeswoman.