After clerking for Judge Jill Parrish of the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, Patrick joined Selendy Gay for its cutting-edge litigation practice, strong mentorship, and opportunities for early responsibility. He quickly took ownership of significant aspects of his matters, managing cases, taking and defending depositions, examining witnesses at trial, and drafting dispositive motions.
Three years later, Patrick has become a key member of teams handling high-stakes commercial and public interest litigation, including securing a summary judgment victory for the United Faculty of Florida and defending that win on appeal.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your career before joining Selendy Gay.
My interest in pursuing a career in law started when I took a seminar on the Constitution as an undergraduate at Swarthmore College. Sorting through thorny legal issues in discussions with my classmates was the most rewarding academic experience of my life and most of my classmates in that seminar are now also lawyers. Once I graduated, I worked for two years in the Rackets Bureau at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, where I helped prosecutors investigate organized crime across New York City. From there, I went on to attend Yale Law School, where I spent a significant amount of time learning about housing law by working for the Housing Clinic and writing a note in the Yale Law Journal on the Fair Housing Act. I then clerked for Judge Jill Parrish of the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah and joined Selendy Gay.
How did you first hear about Selendy Gay, and what made you want to join the firm?
I wasn’t a summer associate at Selendy, unlike many of my colleagues. Instead, late in my clerkship, I realized I had a chance to redo firm recruiting with all the knowledge I had gained from that experience and three years of law school. By that point, I knew that I didn’t want to be one of many junior lawyers at a massive institution at which I was unlikely to get substantive experience until deep into my career. Instead, I focused my search on boutiques at the cutting edge of litigation that would give me interesting work from day one. I came across Selendy Gay through a college friend, Rachel Slepoi, who is an associate at the firm. She recommended Selendy Gay because of her positive experience. After my own diligence, I quickly realized it would be a great fit and give me exactly the type of opportunities that I wouldn’t find elsewhere.
What has stood out to you about the firm since you joined?
Selendy Gay has trusted me with the type of responsibility I was looking for. As a fourth-year associate, I’ve deposed and defended several key fact witnesses, performed a direct examination at trial in the Delaware Court of Chancery, managed cases, and drafted more dispositive motions than I can count. I’ve also developed close working relationships with clients and witnesses in several of my cases. My impression is that this experience is typical for Selendy Gay associates. These opportunities have only been possible because the partners at this firm are highly invested in mentoring associates and fundamentally care about our growth as lawyers.
Can you describe a matter or experience at Selendy Gay that has been particularly meaningful or formative for you?
One of the best things about Selendy Gay is its values and how consistently it stands by them. We represent the United Faculty of Florida in a challenge to Florida’s ban on neutral review of adverse employment actions against public university faculty. I’ve worked on this case from the filing of the complaint, through our summary judgment victory, and now in defending that judgment on appeal. My wife is a professor, so standing up for academic freedom is particularly important to me.
How have you grown professionally during your time at the firm?
My time at Selendy Gay has significantly increased my confidence as a lawyer. I knew very little about how to drive a case forward before joining the firm, as they don’t really teach you how to do it in law school. Now I have the experience, training, and knowledge to jump into even the most daunting of litigation challenges. This is all due to Selendy Gay’s trust that its associates have the capability to handle difficult and complex work.
What are you most looking forward to in the next phase of your career at Selendy Gay?
I’m excited to work on a third trial. I also look forward to joining new cases, since, as a generalist who works on both the plaintiff and defense sides, each one gives me the chance to become a subject matter expert in a brand-new field, whether finance, technology, or medicine, and allows me to expand my knowledge about the world.
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