Patrick Michael is a partner practicing in the Louisville office of Dinsmore & Shohl LLP. He joined Dinsmore & Shohl as a partner in September 2009 when his former firm, Woodward, Hobson & Fulton, LLP, merged with Dinsmore. Patrick focuses his practice primarily in business litigation, commercial transactions and work-outs, non-competition disputes, and professional malpractice defense.
Patrick began his legal career as a trial attorney in 1987. While learning the art of trial practice and honing his skill in the courtroom, he began to focus his practice in the area of commercial litigation, including contract and business disputes and litigation involving the Uniform Commercial Code. In addition, Patrick counsels clients in the areas of vendor and customer contracts, risk analysis and dispute resolution.
Patrick’s experience enables him to guide clients through an array of matters, including emergency hearings for restraining orders in the defense of or prosecution of non-competition agreements. Understanding that these hearings are typically time-sensitive and urgent matters, Patrick works quickly on behalf of his clients, both in the preparation and delivery of documents, as well as building a strategy for the hearing that help his clients meet their objectives. He has worked with a number of high-level executives in various industries, including a national carpet cleaning franchisor, a national pharmacy company and even the inventor of the aluminum baseball bat, placing a premium on learning each client’s industry in order to tailor his approach to fit their needs. His extensive experience in preparing cases for emergency hearings enables him to provide clients with a trusted ally as they move forward.
Patrick also provides compliance review for a number of small to medium-sized companies, reviewing and developing their document retention and destruction policies. He works closely with in-house counsel and the technical staff to evaluate and develop new business strategies to streamline the storage and retrieval process, providing a proactive approach to compliance with evolving local, state and federal laws and regulations.
Patrick was chair of the ALFA International Business Litigation Practice Group for more than six years. During that time, he was responsible for the development and management of three international client seminars which were attended by more than 400 participants. He has first-chaired and managed significant business litigation matters involving multi-million dollar dispute. He also has managed dealership work-outs for auto manufacturing finance companies involving multi-million dollar recoveries.
Patrick has continued his study of the art of trial practice. He attended the National Institute of Trial Advocacy’s National Session, the Institute’s flagship training program designed to polish trial advocacy skills of experienced practitioners. He also attended the NITA Master Advocates program and the NITA Teacher Training Program and subsequently, has taught trial practice at NITA Regional Programs.
Prior to law school, Patrick began his professional life by preparing for a career in the theatre. He studied in the professional acting studio at the University of Illinois for six years. In addition, he studied directing with one of the country’s foremost directing teachers. He received degrees in acting and directing, both from the University of Illinois. Patrick worked at Actors Theatre of Louisville for eight years. During this time, he served as the theatre’s general manager and was responsible for its fiscal and organizational management. In addition, he periodically directed showcase productions. Patrick continues to maintain his many contacts in the professional theatre and works as a free-lance director.