Patrick is experienced in all types and stages of criminal defence matters, and also practices in civil compensation proceedings like institutional abuse cases and class actions.
Experience:
Between 2009 and 2012, Patrick worked at Gordon Legal, working on:
- the thalidomide class action (Lynette Rowe v Grunenthal), for the adult survivors of the thalidomide tragedy in the Victorian Supreme Court;
- asbestos litigation for the plaintiff in the Supreme Court of Tasmania;
- a complex coronial inquest into the adequacy of Victoria’s ambulance and health response in rural locations.
Between 2014 and 2015, Patrick was solicitor-advocate at criminal defence firm Stary, Norton & Halphen, running a busy summary and indictable criminal defence practice with matters across all Victorian courts. Notable other cases during this period include:
- the successful defence of two Essendon Football Club players in the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal;
- instructing counsel and dealing with murder/manslaughter charges in the Supreme Court of Tasmania.
Between 2015 and 2017, Patrick was a solicitor in Slater & Gordon’s class action department. Notable cases during this period include:
- as instructing solicitor, the ACTU’s application that Dyson Heydon recuse himself from further sitting as Royal Commissioner in the ‘Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption’
- the appeal by World Anti-Doping Agency in the Court of Arbitration for Sport in the Essendon supplements cases, and subsequent compensation negotiations and scheme for some players;
- class action litigation as a member of a team.
Patrick first came to the Bar in 2017. Between 2017 and 2022, he practised in criminal defence in all types of criminal matters across all Victorian courts. During this period, his practice mostly comprised:
- County Court: pleas, appeals against sentence, custodial/non-custodial supervision order and mental impairment defence cases, junior to senior counsel in matters heading for trial;
- Magistrates’ Court & Children’s Court: committals, multiple contested hearings for the accused in all types of criminal proceedings (driving, violence, sexual offences, fraud), family violence and personal safety intervention order cases;
- WorkSafe, Legal Services Board and council prosecutions;
- Sentencing Act compensation cases for both offenders and victims;
- IBAC matters.
In June 2022, Patrick left the Bar to practice as a solicitor at Gordon Legal. During this time, together with Katrina Webster, Patrick ran Gordon Legal’s criminal defence department, and essentially worked as in-house counsel on complex civil cases. The civil cases included proceedings in the Supreme Court of Victoria for victims of sexual abuse against religious institutions, and a complex catastrophic injury public liability case.
Patrick returned to the Bar in July 2024. He accepts briefs in all fields of his experience. Patrick is a member of Gorman Chambers, and in 2017 he read with Megan Tittensor SC.
