Biography
Patrick is an experienced trial attorney and Certified Appellate Specialist whose practice includes high-stakes commercial litigation, municipal litigation and appellate law. He helps clients overcome legal challenges so they can focus on their business.
Patrick helps clients solve complex business disputes involving significant claims across a wide range of industries, with a particular focus on health care litigation. He regularly represents clients in multimillion-dollar contract disputes and extra-contractual commercial tort claims before judges in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, North Carolina Business Court and North Carolina Superior Courts.
An adjunct professor of business torts at Wake Forest School of Law, Patrick has a detailed grasp of the issues at the heart of complex commercial litigation, and is able to help his clients navigate the legal intricacies of even the most intractable business disputes.
Patrick has extensive experience in eminent domain matters, having represented both property owners and condemning authorities in condemnation and inverse condemnation cases.
Municipalities facing litigation turn to Patrick to defend their interests against allegations of civil rights violations, police misconduct, employment discrimination, breach of contract and other claims. Patrick is an experienced advocate, well versed in handling both the legal aspects of municipal litigation and the accompanying crisis management challenges.
Patrick represents clients throughout the litigation process, handing commercial and municipal cases not only in the trial court, but in the appellate courts as well. He is one of a small number of appellate attorneys in private practice who have earned the designation of Certified Appellate Specialist from the North Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specialization.
Client Resources
North Carolina Appellate Practice Blog
Patrick is a contributing author on this blog, which provides news, information and tips for practicing law in North Carolina’s State and Federal Appellate Courts. Visit the blog.
Before Fox Rothschild
Patrick was a partner at Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP, which combined with Fox Rothschild in 2018.
Beyond Fox Rothschild
Patrick is an adjunct professor of law at Wake Forest University School of Law, teaching Business and Commercial Torts. He also co-chaired the Greensboro Bar Association’s Pro Bono Initiative, “Second Chance Project” from 2015 to 2018. He is a member of the Rose Council at Wake Forest University School of Law and is a 2015 graduate of Leadership Greensboro.
Patrick has been appointed three times to serve on Merit Selection Reappointment Panels in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina by the court’s Chief Judge. He was appointed to panels for Magistrate Judge L. Patrick Auld in 2017 and 2025 and for Magistrate Judge Joi Elizabeth Peake in 2018.
Patrick is also heavily involved in athletics. He served as the Vice President of the North Carolina Youth Rugby Union and as a coach for the Greensboro Youth Rugby Association. He has also served as a coach for the Greensboro Parks and Rec Youth Baseball League and the Greensboro United Youth Soccer Association. He served as the Commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Rugby League from 2010 to 2015 and was the Director of Men's Rugby at Wake Forest University from 2004 to 2013. He is now on the Board of Directors for the Wake Forest Rugby Foundation. Patrick is also involved with the Greensboro Sports Council and is an avid marathoner and ultramarathoner.
Honors & Awards
- Selected to the Chambers USA Guide list of ranked attorneys for Litigation: General Commercial in North Carolina (2024-2025)
- Named to the list of Client Service All Stars by BTI Consulting Group (2022)
- Recipient of the International Municipal Lawyers Association's Amicus Service Award (2021, 2023, 2025)
- Named to North Carolina Super Lawyers list for Civil Litigation (2021, 2025, 2026)
- Named to North Carolina Super Lawyers, Rising Stars Edition, listed General Litigation (2012), Civil Litigation Defense (2013-2018)
- Selected to the "Best Lawyers in America" list for Commercial Litigation in Greensboro, NC by Best Lawyers (2018-2026)
- Recognized in Business North Carolina's Legal Elite for Young Guns (2015, 2016, 2017), Litigation (2017-2021, 2025, 2026) and Appellate (2020-2024)
- North Carolina Pro Bono Honor Society (2020-2022)
- North Carolina Bar Association's Citizen Lawyer Award (2015)
- Named to Triad Business Journal’s 40 Leaders Under Forty (2015)
Bar Admissions
- North Carolina
Court Admissions
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
- U.S. District Court, District of Columbia
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina
- U.S. District Court, Middle District of North Carolina
- U.S. District Court, Western District of North Carolina
- U.S. District Court, Western District of New York
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan
- U.S. Court of Federal Claims
Education
- Wake Forest University School of Law (J.D., 2007)
- College of the Holy Cross (B.A., 2000)
Memberships
- International Municipal Lawyers Association
- Chief Justice Joseph Branch Inn of Court
- Federal Bar Association Middle District of North Carolina Chapter
- North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys
- Defense Research Institute
Board of Directors
- Wake Forest Rugby Foundation
- Greensboro Youth Rugby Association
