Litigator Patrick Dorsey Joins Williams Mullen’s Charlottesville Office

Williams Mullen is pleased to announce that Patrick O. Dorsey has joined the firm’s Charlottesville office as partner in its Litigation Section.

Dorsey is a trial and appellate lawyer who represents clients in business disputes and litigation with the government. He also advises clients facing internal investigations, regulatory issues and other reputational challenges. Dorsey’s clients include financial and professional services firms, educational institutions, developers and closely held businesses. He represents government contractors in investigations or litigation arising from compliance issues, teaming agreements, statements of work and workshare agreements.

Charlottesville-based, Dorsey is a Virginia lawyer with national experience. Before joining Williams Mullen, he practiced for nine years at two Am Law 100 firms and clerked at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in the chambers of the Hon. Paul L. Friedman. During law school, he served at the Department of Justice. Before attending law school, he spent several years at Lockheed Martin advising an agency within the Department of Defense. He has practiced in jurisdictions across the country and represented individuals, small businesses, multinational companies and sovereign states. He has litigated several of the largest civil enforcement actions of the last decade, including In re Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation. He also has experience with national security matters in classified settings.

Dorsey leads investigations, litigation, and advisory engagements across the full lifecycle of a matter. He conducts diligence and develops programs to assess and mitigate risk. He advises on regulatory compliance and, if appropriate, challenges to agency actions. When litigation is threatened, he negotiates discreet, business-focused resolutions. He briefs and argues critical motions, including on issues of first impression, and litigates cases through trial. Dorsey also advocates in the courts of appeals: he has obtained an en banc victory in the Eighth Circuit and handled appeals addressing constitutional and statutory issues in the Second, Fourth, Seventh, and D.C. Circuits.

Dorsey earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was president of the Student Legal Forum and executive editor of the Virginia Journal of International Law. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree, with high distinction, from the University of Virginia.