Practice Areas
Industries
Education
University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law, J.D., 2005
Drake University, B.A., B.S., 2002
Admissions
Missouri
Illinois
Patrick litigates a wide range of matters and defends clients in complex business litigation, insurance disputes, contract disputes and appellate issues. He has over a decade of experience handling all aspects of complex insurance and commercial litigation, including insurance coverage, bad faith, employment disputes, intellectual property, and toxic tort. In addition to extensive trial experience, he has won dozens of dispositive motions, served as appellate oversight counsel, and frequently supervises post-trial proceedings regarding issues likely to give rise to appeals. Patrick’s experience in appellate practice qualifies him to help clients navigate the changing courts. He has also prepared hundreds of coverage opinions to insurance clients and has helped insurers successfully navigate changing laws and judicial temperaments. He has briefed and argued cases at the state Court of Appeals and Supreme Court levels and in the United States Court of Appeals and has a very strong record of success despite the shifting judicial climate.
Patrick’s commitment to excellence began well before he started his legal career. As a vocal music major in college Patrick learned a lot about logic, organization and performance - all skills he relies on as an attorney. He uses those skills to help clients resolve difficult issues. He always wanted to be a problem solver and for him there is nothing more gratifying than finding the right solution and putting his clients at ease.
When Patrick is not in the office, he loves to be outside. As he puts it, he never stopped playing in the dirt. Community gardening is one of his favorite hobbies; he is a certified Master Gardener and is on the Corporate Council and the Young Friends Council of the Missouri Botanical Garden.
Honors
- Selected to Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers "Rising Stars" list: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
- Received Missouri Lawyers Award for Largest Settlement in the State of Missouri: 2015
- Selected to The Best Lawyers in America© in Insurance Law: 2019
Memberships & Involvement
- Member: Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers (MODL); Delta Theta Phi Law Fraternity
Experience
- Appellate victory finding Missouri’s medical bill presumption statute applicable to uninsured motorist cases as a matter of first impression, effectively reducing the value of every UM claim brought in Missouri
- Summary judgment and later appellate court decision upholding an insurer’s anti-stacking language in an auto liability matter despite minimum financial responsibility laws and alleged ambiguity in the policy
- Appellate victory in the Missouri Supreme Court overturning a lower court’s adverse ruling in a commercial fraud action
News & Press Releases
- SmithAmundsen, November 2018
- August 15, 2018
- SmithAmundsen, November 14, 2017
- October 13, 2017
- SmithAmundsen, November 3, 2016
- Missouri Lawyers Weekly, January 29, 2016
Publications
- The Voice, DRI's weekly e-newsletter, September 20, 2017
- July 11, 2017
Presentations & Events
- National Business Institute; Seminar; St. Louis, June 2017