Vinson & Elkins LLP

Environmental & Natural Resources

Partner

Companies around the world have turned to Patrick for almost twenty-five years to represent them in environmental enforcement cases and to conduct their most sensitive internal environmental compliance investigations. Most recently, Patrick was the Deputy Assistant Administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA), where he served as one of the highest-ranking environmental enforcement attorneys in the federal government.

During his tenure at the EPA, Patrick supervised the agency’s nationwide Clean Air Act (CAA) civil enforcement docket. He was also integrally involved in the development of every significant enforcement policy and represented OECA in reviewing all CAA regulations and guidance issued by the EPA. Patrick leverages this insight into the EPA’s CAA enforcement process to effectively and efficiently represent clients facing enforcement investigations and actions.

In addition to his litigation practice, companies in the energy sector have turned to Patrick to secure project-critical environmental approvals for the construction and expansion of tens of billions of dollars’ worth of projects at refineries, petrochemical and fertilizer plants, LNG export terminals, and coal- and gas-fired power plants.