Patrick M. Ward
Senior Associate
Overview
Patrick is a Senior Litigation Associate at Dooley Gembala McLaughlin Pecora. He is a seasoned trial lawyer with a sophisticated and varied practice. He is licensed in both Ohio and Illinois and has substantial experience handling commercial/business, employment, municipal, probate, professional liability, construction, civil rights, insurance coverage, product liability, asbestos, motor vehicle/trucking, and premises liability litigation matters. Patrick’s practice also involves prosecuting class action cases and counseling public sector clients regarding various legal issues, including those pertaining to water and sewer service, public housing, eminent domain, contract disputes, and employment practices. Patrick also advises business clients regarding entity formation and organizational structure, financing, corporate governance and planning, changes in ownership, contract drafting and negotiation, and employment-related issues. Patrick has also defended numerous municipalities, including the City of Chicago, and police officers against claims alleging use of excessive force, false arrest, unlawful searches, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, and other civil rights violations.
Admissions
Before moving back to Northeast Ohio where he grew up, Patrick was a member of one of Chicago’s leading civil litigation law firms. He prides himself on his work ethic and providing the highest level of client service.
Patrick received a B.B.A. from the University of Notre Dame in 2001 and a J.D. from the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in 2004. He is admitted to practice law in the following courts:
- Supreme Court of Illinois
- Supreme Court of Ohio
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
Accomplishments
Patrick’s experience includes the following representative matters:
- Successfully represented a non-profit entity in a declaratory judgment action relating to the validity of certain amendments to a trust agreement and the identities of the trust beneficiaries where a settlement was reached, entitling the client to collect twenty-five percent of a trust valued in excess of $1,000,000;
- Obtained summary judgment in favor of a property manager in a personal injury action arising out of a roof collapse (See Osbourne v. Bone Roofing Supply, Inc., No. 1-14-2533, 2016 WL 4991342 (Ill. Ct. App. Sept. 16, 2016);
- Obtained summary judgment in favor of the City of Blue Island, Illinois and one of its police officers in a civil rights action arising out of the arrest, investigation, and prosecution of an individual for attempted armed robbery (See Manning v. City of Blue Island, No. 13-C-2214, 2015 WL 1538864 (N.D. Ill. March 31, 2015);
- Obtained summary judgment in favor of a tactical operations sharp shooting specialist in a wrongful death action arising out of a barricaded gunman stand-off incident in which the gunman opened fire upon an armored BearCat SWAT vehicle occupied by multiple law enforcement officers;
- Collected a judgment in excess of $1,000,000 on behalf of a corporate client in a breach of contract action where the defendant was located on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts, held no assets in the United States, and refused to pay the judgment.