Patrick O. Dorsey

Patrick 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. Patrick’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. 

Resident in Charlottesville, Patrick 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. Patrick served during law school at the Department of Justice and, before law school, worked for several years at Lockheed Martin advising an agency of 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. 

Patrick’s counsel is sophisticated, pragmatic, and versatile. Circumstances sometimes demand a surgical approach, and Patrick has obtained court action within hours of filing an emergency motion. Other cases merit a more sustained campaign: he has managed discovery strategy in a multiyear case pursued by dozens of state attorneys general and hundreds of plaintiffs and putative classes. 

Patrick leads investigations, litigation, and advisory engagements across the full lifecycle of a matter.  

• He conducts diligence and develops programs to assess and mitigate risk. 
• In regulatory matters, Patrick advises on compliance and, if appropriate, challenges to agency actions. 
• Where litigation is threatened, he negotiates discreet, business-focused resolutions.
• If disputes escalate to contested proceedings, Patrick briefs critical motions and argues them in court. He has obtained dismissal and summary judgment on issues of first impression, concluding cases before trial. 
• At the same time, Patrick manages each case with trial in view. He has served on several trial teams. 
• When appeal is warranted, Patrick advocates in the courts of appeals. He has obtained an en banc victory in the Eighth Circuit and has handled appeals addressing constitutional and statutory issues in the Second, Fourth, Seventh, and D.C. Circuits.

Patrick maintains an active pro bono practice, with a focus on rule of law and constitutional issues.

Patrick 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, where he was a member of the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society.

Outside the office, Patrick plays the trumpet with several Charlottesville groups and enjoys gardening with his wife and children.