Online legal services part of changing landscape
Online legal services are not going away, so traditional attorneys need to adapt to the changing marketplace, according to panelists at a San Diego Law Library event last month.
Education
Law School/Year: California Western, 1994
Other Graduate School/Year: Bethel Seminary, Master of Divinity, 2009; University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Ph.D., Theology, 2012
College/Year: University of California, Los Angeles, 1990
Bar Admissions
California State Court, California Federal Court, U.S. District Court Southern District, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, U.S. Supreme Court
Practice Areas
Criminal Law
Major Cases
Patrick has prosecuted multiple high-profile cases that have drawn a significant amount of media attention. She convicted a woman of attempted murder who had abandoned her newborn baby in a dumpster. She prosecuted a complex six-week, two defendant attempted murder hate crime trial that was tried to two jury panels simultaneously, involving the hunting down and vicious assault on a Hispanic man in East County. She has prosecuted several murder cases involving shocking methods of execution and dueling psychiatric experts, and handles sexually violent predator and life top child molestation cases as part of her daily caseload.
Professional Background
Patrick started her career as a criminal defense attorney before joining the District Attorney's Office. She has completed more than 150 trials, including roughly 100 jury trials ranging from hate crimes to domestic violence, to first-degree murder. In her current assignment in the Sex Crimes and Stalking Division, she prosecutes cases involving human trafficking, child molestation and sexually violent predators. She formerly prosecuted Hate Crimes, Juvenile cases where she was the Director of the Serious Habitual Offender Unit, and worked in the Special Operations Division, reviewing and prosecuting cases against law enforcement, lawyers, as well as reviewing officer-involved shootings.
Professional Affiliations
Patrick is Chair of the California State Bar’s Standing Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct, immediate past Chair of the San Diego County Bar Association’s Legal Ethics Committee, sits on the Executive Committee of the California State Bar Criminal Law Section, and is a Master and team leader in the Louis M. Welsh American Inn of Court. She teaches upper-division business ethics at San Diego State University and regularly guest lectures at other educational institutions. She teaches ethics as well as trial skills around the country on a regular basis to a variety of legal and business organizations.
Personal Affiliations
Regarding her true passion in life, Patrick has a Ph.D. in theology from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David and a Master of Divinity degree summa cum laude from Bethel Seminary San Diego, where she was awarded the Excellence in Preaching Award and the Zondervan Biblical Languages Award. She is active in ministry and has a Certified Biblical Counseling certificate from Horizon College.
Patrick is also co-author of the revised version of The New York Times bestseller "Reading People" (Random House 2008), a coveted skill she uses and teaches in connection with both law and ministry.
Personal Background
One of Patrick’s passions is exploring the world with her family. Some of their favorite escapades have included “summer vacations” in Antarctica, Iceland, Greenland and the North Pole. She is also passionate about Christianity and pursuing a better life. This 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. In her spare time, Patrick holds a purple belt in Shorin-Ryu karate, is a concert violinist with the La Jolla Symphony, and plays the electric violin professionally with a rock band.
Online legal services are not going away, so traditional attorneys need to adapt to the changing marketplace, according to panelists at a San Diego Law Library event last month.
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