Prior to co-founding CROKE FAIRCHILD DUARTE & BERES, Patrick was a Partner at Sidley Austin LLP. Patrick brings a commercial and strategic approach, finding solutions for his clients across a range of transactional, litigation, and government affairs matters. Patrick has been the trusted counselor and advisor to Fortune 500 companies, business and political leaders, executives, boards, entrepreneurs, investment funds, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals across a wide range of industries, as he has counseled on M&A transactions, growth investments, fund formation, corporate reorganizations, government affairs, and fundraising. Patrick led the deal teams on both the largest exit for a Chicago-based tech company in the past five years in 2019 and the largest exit of a Chicago-founded company in 2018. Additionally, Patrick has formed family offices, venture capital funds, private equity funds, and several of the first Qualified Opportunity Zone funds in existence. Patrick also serves as the outside general counsel to several investment managers and is relied upon as a key adviser for their legal and strategic decisions.

In addition to his corporate practice, Patrick has handled white-collar corporate internal investigations for domestic & foreign companies and individuals, and has litigated large complex commercial cases for over a decade, including taking several trials to verdict. Patrick is also a sought-after advisor in the government affairs realm at the federal, state, and local levels, including the successful U.S. Senate confirmation of the U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic.

Prior to joining Sidley, Patrick served as the lawyer in Iowa for Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign and in Senator Ted Kennedy’s Judiciary Committee Office. Patrick’s community involvement includes serving as an Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering, serving as a board member for Urban Initiatives and maintaining an active pro bono practice. Patrick is honored to have been named to the inaugural 40 Under 40 list of Irish Legal 100 and to have been recognized as a 2016 Truman National Security Project Political Partner and a 2017 Chicago Council of Global Affairs Emerging Leader. Patrick also served as an elected delegate at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

Patrick serves on the Firm’s Management Committee and the Office of General Counsel. For over a decade, he has served on the Board of Urban Initiatives, a Chicago non-profit leveraging the power of sport to empower youth to achieve academic success. In 2024, he was named to the prestigious Chicago Public Media Business Leadership Council. Patrick is also proud to serve on the Legal Services Corporation Leaders Council, which promotes equal access to justice and is the single largest funder of civil legal aid for low-income Americans in the nation.