Education

Law School/Year: California Western School of Law, 1994

Other Graduate School/Year: M.Div., Bethel Seminary, 2009, summa cum laude

College/Year: UCLA, 1990

Bar Admissions

California; U.S. District Court, Southern District of California; U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit; U.S. Supreme Court

Practice Areas

Criminal Law

Major Cases

Wendy Patrick has prosecuted numerous high-profile cases including complex murder trials involving mental health and sanity issues with dueling psychiatric experts, and has handled a variety of complicated cases involving multiple defendants, including one case that was tried to two jury panels simultaneously. In her current assignment she prosecutes child molesters, rapists and sexually violent predators as part of her daily caseload.

Professional Background

Patrick started her career as a deputy public defender before joining the District Attorney's Office. She has completed approximately 150 trials including nearly 100 jury trials ranging from domestic violence to first-degree murder. She is currently assigned to the Sex Crimes and Stalking Division, where she prosecutes child molesters, sex offenders and sexually violent predators. Prior to her current assignment she spent years in the Family Protection Division, served as the director of the Serious Habitual Offender Unit in the Juvenile Division, and also worked in the Special Operations division. Patrick is also a management professor at San Diego State University, where she teaches business ethics.

Professional Affiliations

Patrick is serving her fifth year as a chair of the San Diego County Bar Association’s Ethics Committee, is one of 16 members of the California State Bar Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct, and is a member of the Executive Committee of the California State Bar Criminal Law Section. She is a master in the Louis M. Welsh American Inn of Court. Patrick teaches and lectures on ethics and trial skills locally, nationally and internationally. 

She is co-author of the revised version of the New York Times bestseller Reading People, was a contributing author to Hate Crimes: Causes, Controls, and Controversies and to the Encyclopedia of Race and Racism. She writes regularly for a variety of periodicals both locally and nationally, and has her own ethics column in The Daily Transcript.

Personal Affiliations

In a different genre of programs, Patrick presents motivational seminars, keynote speeches and workshops nationwide. She is a frequent conference opening speaker around the country on the subjects of reading people and how to make a great impression, and she also presents at law firm and business retreats and workshops on the topics of leadership, building partnerships and how to communicate with difficult people.

In her spare time, Patrick plays first violin with the La Jolla Symphony and plays the electric violin professionally with a rock band, performing around San Diego County and in Hollywood. She also holds a purple belt in karate.

Personal Background

Patrick is a California native, whose passion in life is traveling with her family. Their adventures have taken them from Antarctica to Iceland and Greenland, to a recent summer vacation to the North Pole. She is also passionate about Christianity and pursuing a better life. She holds a certified biblical counseling certificate from Horizon College and a master’s in divinity degree summa cum laude from Bethel Seminary, where she was awarded the Excellence in Preaching Award and the Zondervan Biblical Languages Award. This passion is a commitment shared by her family, including her sister Jennifer Patrick, an attorney specializing in religious freedoms law, business and corporate law and First Amendment law.