Mr. Patton's primary areas of practice are complex commercial litigation, labor and employment law, class actions, trademark and patent litigation, health care law, and banking and consumer protection litigation.

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Education

• The College of William & Mary, B.A., 1991
• Wake Forest University, J.D., 1994

Experience

• Representing clients in all types of employment litigation, as well as advising management on compliance issues in an effort to avoid or protect against lawsuits
• Serving as lead trial counsel in commercial litigation covering all aspects of contract and commercial disputes and intellectual property
• Defending collective and class actions
• Managing and overseeing workplace investigations
• Providing advice and representation to employers on wage and hour claims, and H2A and H2B workers programs
• Representing management in dealings with unions and union avoidance campaigns
• Providing strategic advice and counseling to companies dealing with the full array of employment and labor issues, including EEO policies and practices
• Conducting internal audits of employment practices with a focus on noncompete agreements, handbooks and protection of trade secrets
• Speaking at national programs such as ABA and ACI featuring Wage and Hour Class and Collective Actions, Employment Litigation, and Employment Practice Liability Insurance
• Representing clients in consumer finance litigation, including consumer protection laws and payment systems
• Advising and investigating loan fraud on behalf of financial institutions
• Former Law Clerk, United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina

Distinctions

• Nominated by his peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America for Employment Law - Management
• Named to the North Carolina Super Lawyers list

Admissions

• North Carolina State Bar
• Pennsylvania State Bar
• Tennessee State Bar
• West Virginia State Bar
• United States District Courts for the Middle, Eastern and Western Districts of North Carolina
• United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Tennessee
• United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
• United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia

Memberships

• American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section, Employment Rights & Responsibilities Committee
  • Management Co-Chair, Workplace Investigations
• North Carolina Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section

Publications & Presentations

• Chapter Co-Author, Trial Techniques for the Labor and Employment Law Practitioner, Bloomberg/BNA, 2019