Professionals across the nation depend on Patrick to help them resolve personnel matters of every variety. Patrick is experienced in the negotiation and administration of collective bargaining agreements, discipline, discharge and grievance processing, and arbitrating labor disputes. He routinely defends management in state and federal employment lawsuits, conducts preventative management training, and speaks at industry conventions on a variety of labor and employment topics.

Patrick lends strong administrative and project management skills to the firm’s Higher Education practice, advising college and university clients through labor and employment compliance, litigation, corporate governance, and business transactional matters. He works closely with institutional leaders to manage risk, leverage opportunity and advance strategic initiatives.

Patrick is recognized as a rising leader in the bar: peers elected him Chair of the Virginia Bar Association’s Young Lawyer’s Division, and voted him into a number of industry publications, including Virginia Super Lawyers and Virginia Business Magazine’s Legal Elite. Patrick serves his community on a number of civic boards as well, including the Virginia Legal Aid Society. Patrick is an adjunct professor at the Washington & Lee University School of Law, his alma mater.

Thought Leadership

Annual Update on Labor & Employment Law: August 2022 through July 2023, The Virginia Bar Association, Co-author

Annual Update on Labor & Employment Law: August 2021 through July 2022, The Virginia Bar Association, Co-author

A Shot at Immunity: Can Employers Mandate COVID-19 Vaccinations?, Opening Statement, Winter 2020-2021

Annual Update on Labor & Employment Law: August 2020 through July 2021, The Virginia Bar Association, Co-author

Data in Danger, Lynchburg Business, August/September 2018

Can a Business Be Liable to Its Employees for LGBT Discrimination?, Lynchburg Business, February 2018

Bueller? Bueller? Proposed Paid Sick Leave Rules For Federal Contractors, Virginia Bar Association Young Lawyer’s Division “Opening Statement” (Page 6), October 2016

Five Things Virginia Should Know About Garnishment Summonses, Lynchburg Business, February 1, 2016

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974: What Parents, Students and School Officials Need to Know, Lynchburg Business, July 31, 2015

Teaching Engagements

Adjunct Professor | Electronic Discovery | Washington & Lee University School of Law

Representative Matters

Traditional Labor

  • Peraton, Inc. v. I.B.E.W, Local 543, 5:21CV00976 (C.D.Ca. 2021) (appeal of labor arbitration on the basis that the arbitrator exceeded the boundaries of the issues submitted by federal contractor and union)

Employment

  • Hogan v. Carter Bank & Trust, 4:22CV00014 (W.D.Va. 2022) (age and retaliation claims against large regional bank)
  • Reyes v. Trex Co., Inc. et al, 5:22CV00051 (W.D.Va. 2022)  (sex, race and national origin discrimination, hostile work environment, harassment, and wrongful termination claims against manufacturer removed from state court)
  • Newell v. Carter Bank & Trust, 4:21CV00007 (W.D.Va. 2021) (age and retaliation claims against large regional bank dismissed on summary judgment)
  • Ladd v. Total Plastic Solutions, LLC, CL21000509-00 (Lynchburg Cty. Cir. Ct. 2021) (state court claim of sex-based pay discrimination under the Virginia Human Rights Act and general whistleblower protection law against plastics manufacturer)
  • Hill v. Appalachian Pwr. Co., CL21001611-00 (Roanoke Cty. Cir. Ct. 2021) (state court claims under the Virginia safety act and general whistleblower protection law against power company)
  • Thomas v. Strongwell Corp., 1:19CV00026 (W.D.Va. 2019) (race, ancestry, ethnicity, and national origin discrimination, denial of reasonable accommodations, harassment and hostile work environment, and retaliation case against manufacturer)
  • Hudson-Jones v. C.B. Fleet Co., Inc. et al, 6:19CV00084 (W.D.Va. 2019) (age-based discrimination, failure to accommodate and retaliation claims against manufacturer)
  • Lee v. Belvac Prod. Mach., Inc., No. 6:18-CV-00075, 2020 WL 3643133 (W.D. Va. July 6, 2018), aff’d, No. 20-1805, 2022 WL 4996507 (4th Cir. Oct. 4, 2022) (dismissal of sex-based pay discrimination claims against manufacturer on summary judgment affirmed by Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals)

Attorney Perspectives

Speaking Engagements

  • Roanoke Valley SHRM | Legal Panel
    January 24, 2024
  • TRGroup Human Resources Conference | Human Resources Roundtable
    September 27, 2023
  • TRGroup Compliance and Risk Management Conference + TRGroup Human Resources Conference | Legal Update & HR Hot Topics and HR Roundtable
    September 27, 2023
  • Tennessee Credit Union League Annual Convention | Legal Updates and Hot Topics in Employment Law
    May 18, 2023
  • Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police | FLSA, FMLA, & ADA Training
    May 5, 2023
  • HR Virginia 2023 Annual Conference | Pay Equity Refresh: Balancing the Scales
    April 25, 2023
  • Virginia Society for Healthcare HR Administration | 2023 Legal Updates
    April 19, 2023
  • Medical Advisory Group | Workplace Violence
    February 3, 2023
  • CUPA-HR Virginia Chapter Event | Employment Legal Update 2023
    January 25, 2023
  • Mississippi Credit Union Association | Labor & Employment Training
    December 21, 2022
  • CO.STARTERS | Opportunity Lynchburg
    October 17, 2022
  • Lynchburg Bar Association | Virginia’s Labor Laws & Collective Bargaining
    September 30, 2022
  • Mississippi Credit Union Association | Labor & Employment Training
    August 24, 2022
  • Lynchburg SHRM | Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Where are we in 2022?
    August 11, 2022
  • Mississippi Credit Union Association | Labor & Employment Training
    June 30, 2022
  • American University Washington College of Law | Labor & Employment Law Career Panel
    March 23, 2022
  • Virginia Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration | Legal Update
    March 14, 2022
  • Blue Ridge Human Resources Association | Employment Law Seminar 2022
    March 9, 2022
  • Mississippi Credit Union Association | Legal Developments in Labor & Employment
    February 24, 2022
  • The Medical Advisory Group of Roanoke | Harassment, Bullying, and Other Workplace Issues
    September 28, 2021
  • The Medical Advisory Group of Lynchburg | Harassment, Bullying, and Other Workplace Issues
    September 8, 2021
  • Virginia Society of CPAs, Roanoke Chapter | New Virginia Workplace Laws
    August 19, 2021
  • Young Professionals of Central Virginia | The Future of Work: The Gig Economy, Remote Work, DEI Initiatives, and More
    May 6, 2021
  • Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police | Fair Labor Standards Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, & Family Medical Leave Act
    March 3, 2021
  • Charlottesville SHRM | 2021 Legal Update
    February 9, 2021
  • Kentucky Credit Union League | Q&A: COVID-19 in 2021
    January 14, 2021
  • Richmond SHRM | Virginia’s New Employment Laws
    November 12, 2020
  • Lynchburg Bar Association | Virginia’s New Employment Law Landscape
    November 9, 2020
  • Virginia Credit Union League | Virginia’s Updated Workplace Standards & EFMLA
    August 5, 2020
  • International Public Management Association for Human Resources - Virginia Chapter | Employee Leave Under FFCRA & 6 Steps to Take if an Employee Tests Positive
    June 18, 2020
  • Tennessee Credit Union Association | CEO Update
    May 7, 2020
  • CO.STARTERS | Opportunity Lynchburg
    April 13, 2020
  • CO.STARTERS | Opportunity Lynchburg
    October 14, 2019

Seminars + Events

  • Stronger Together: WRVB 2022 Labor & Employment Seminars
    October 6 - October 24, 2022
  • 40th Annual Labor & Employment Webinar Series
    October 7 – November 4, 2021
  • HR LifeLine: 2020 Labor & Employment Webinar Series
    Every Thursday in October, 2020
  • 2019 Labor and Employment Seminar Series
    October 2 - November 5, 2019
  • 37th Annual Labor & Employment Seminar Series
    September 20 - October 17, 2018

Recognition