Patrick litigates complex business disputes and government-facing matters in trial and appellate courts across the country, with particular experience in the state and federal courts of Virginia. He draws on a background in government and industry to help clients navigate sensitive commercial and reputational challenges, including regulatory issues, agency actions, and incident response.
Patrick’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation. He represents clients in breach of contract, fraud, antitrust, consumer claims, and other civil matters. His clients range from individuals and small businesses to middle-market companies and Fortune 20 corporations. He has advised clients in the financial services, defense, technology, insurance, pharmaceuticals, and consumer goods industries. Patrick often represents government contractors in litigation arising from teaming agreements, statements of work, and workshare agreements. He has defended a number of MDL proceedings and class actions implicating pricing, advertising, and manufacturing practices.
Patrick’s experience spans all phases of litigation. He advises plaintiffs and defendants on pre-suit strategy and negotiates discreet, business-focused resolutions. He briefs and argues critical motions and has obtained dismissals and summary judgment on issues of first impression, including in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Patrick often leads fact and expert discovery; he managed depositions in an MDL encompassing claims by dozens of state attorneys general and classes of private plaintiffs. Patrick has served on several trial teams, including the defense team in a seven-week merger trial brought by the Department of Justice. Through a law school clinic, he first-chaired multiple bench trials in Virginia courts. Patrick’s appellate work includes an en banc victory in the Eighth Circuit that resolved a circuit split on pleading standards. He has litigated appeals addressing national security matters and treaty obligations in the D.C. Circuit and the Second Circuit.
Patrick also counsels clients on government-facing matters before litigation begins, with a focus on administrative law and incident response. This work includes conducting investigations and governance reviews, coordinating with law enforcement, and preparing strategies for response to agency actions. He has experience in sovereign practice and litigating in classified settings.
Patrick joined the firm after a clerkship with Judge Paul L. Friedman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He previously practiced at the Washington, D.C., office of another national law firm. During law school, he served in the National Security Division of the Department of Justice, the State Department’s Diplomacy Lab, and several Virginia prosecutors’ offices. He began his career in public policy and later worked at Lockheed Martin on strategic planning for a counter-WMD agency of the Department of Defense.
Experience
- Samsung in putative class action concerning the manufacturing and advertising of consumer electronics.
- Fortune 500 defense and IT services company in a dispute with a major subcontractor arising from U.S. Air Force contract performance. Following extensive discovery and contested motion practice, obtained a favorable resolution of the litigation.
- Small business subcontractor as plaintiff in a contract dispute with a prime contractor concerning a teaming agreement and workshare obligations. Following motion practice, obtained a favorable resolution of the litigation.
- Major international cruise line in defense of multiple class actions and individual wrongful-death and personal injury claims arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Team obtained dismissal with prejudice or favorable resolution of all actions and established ground-breaking precedent in COVID claims.
- Philanthropic organization in dispute with software provider concerning performance and arbitrability issues under SaaS contract. Obtained order to compel arbitration and a favorable resolution to the case.
- Financial institution in defending putative class action concerning benchmark interest rates.*
- Several confidential clients in cyberattack incident response, including international asset-tracing and recovery, disputes with insurers and commercial partners, and coordination with domestic and international law enforcement.
*Represents experience with previous employer.
Credentials
Education
- J.D., University of Virginia School of Law, 2016
- B.A., University of Virginia, 2009, with High Distinction
Admissions
- District of Columbia
- Virginia
Government & Military Service
- Defense Threat Reduction Agency (A&AS Contractor, Cooperative Threat Reduction Program), U.S. Department of Defense
Clerkships
- U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, The Honorable Paul L. Friedman