Faculty Profile: Patrick Lamb

I attribute my success in large part to the path I took to get to where I am today. I joined the firm now known as Katten Muchin Rosenman when I graduated from law school in 1982. At that time, Katten was a mid-sized firm whose clientele tended to be entrepreneurs. As a result, I had considerable contact not only with “the client,” but more importantly, with people who ran the businesses. To survive in that environment, one had to learn the value of short, direct answers to business questions. We did not have the luxury of lengthy analytical memos. We learned to look at our effort as an investment, always focusing on whether the payoff justified the investment.

One of the traits I learned when working with entrepreneurs early in my career is to look for business solutions to business problems. I love it when I have been able to arrange for my client to buy the company suing us, for example, or when, through creative mediation, we have been able to resolve matters for much less than reserved. The application of creativity to litigation problems is one of my strengths.

I was fortunate to spend a great deal of time in court, and I have tried a number of cases. When my mentor was sued personally (the firm also was sued), he tapped me to defend him and the firm. I was tapped later by another partner who was sued personally in the aftermath of a tremendous pro bono success he had achieved for the highly publicized “Bambi Bembenek,” whose story was touted in books and a movie. While my personal relationships with these partners increased the pressure to win, I was honored to be their chosen trial lawyer. My mentor had himself been mentored by the famed trial lawyer Edward Bennett Williams, who founded the legendary Williams & Connelly firm in Washington, DC. To this day, my mentor’s praise that “Edward Bennett Williams could not have done a better job” is a source of great satisfaction. The verdict in our favor on both cases was unanimous.

I tell the stories of the trials of my former partners because their requests that I represent them when their reputations were on the line are the strongest endorsements I have received. But courtroom accomplishments are only a small part of the story. I learned early on that most clients hate the uncertainty and high cost that accompany trials and instead want business solutions quickly.

In this context, the ability and willingness to take a dispute to trial are tools to achieve the best possible resolution. If your opponent fears a jury verdict, that fear can be exploited to our client’s advantage. The key is to never let the desire to win at trial compromise the ultimate objective of getting the best result for the client.

From a substantive standpoint, I have spent considerable time representing clients in mass tort claims, including acting as National Coordinating Counsel and National Trial Counsel. I have handled numerous post-acquisition disputes for clients following roll-up business plans that spawned considerable litigation around the country. Beyond this, I have handled numerous fraud investigations and suits, contract and warranty claims, construction claims, professional liability, lending, minority shareholder and similar disputes that businesses experience more frequently than they prefer.