Prior to joining the legal industry, Patrick was a Foreign Service officer, serving 16 years with the US Department of State, where he was assigned to Somalia, El Salvador, Columbia, Peru, India and Washington, DC. After leaving the Foreign Service and before joining Arent Fox, Patrick worked at two large law firms where he focused on government contracts matters and large, general commercial litigation cases. From 2004-2005, Patrick served as law clerk to the Honorable Diane Gilbert Sypolt of the US Court of Federal Claims.