Member in Charge of Winston-Salem Office
Winston-Salem, NC
office 336.725.4491
mobile 336.749.0491
Northern Florida
Mr. Patton's primary areas of practice are complex commercial litigation, labor and employment law, class actions, trademark and patent litigation, health care law, and banking and consumer protection litigation.

Education

  • The College of William & Mary, B.A., 1991
  • Wake Forest University, J.D., 1994

Experience

  • Representing clients in all types of employment litigation, as well as advising management on compliance issues in an effort to avoid or protect against lawsuits
  • Serving as lead trial counsel in commercial litigation covering all aspects of contract and commercial disputes and intellectual property
  • Defending collective and class actions
  • Managing and overseeing workplace investigations
  • Providing advice and representation to employers on wage and hour claims, and H2A and H2B workers programs
  • Representing management in dealings with unions and union avoidance campaigns
  • Providing strategic advice and counseling to companies dealing with the full array of employment and labor issues, including EEO policies and practices
  • Conducting internal audits of employment practices with a focus on noncompete agreements, handbooks and protection of trade secrets
  • Speaking at national programs such as ABA and ACI featuring Wage and Hour Class and Collective Actions, Employment Litigation, and Employment Practice Liability Insurance
  • Representing clients in consumer finance litigation, including consumer protection laws and payment systems
  • Advising and investigating loan fraud on behalf of financial institutions
  • Former Law Clerk, United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina

Distinctions

  • Nominated by his peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America for Employment Law - Management
  • Named to the North Carolina Super Lawyers list

Admissions

  • North Carolina State Bar
  • Pennsylvania State Bar
  • Tennessee State Bar
  • West Virginia State Bar
  • United States District Courts for the Middle, Eastern and Western Districts of North Carolina
  • United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Tennessee
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia

Memberships

  • American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section, Employment Rights & Responsibilities Committee
    • Management Co-Chair, Workplace Investigations
  • North Carolina Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section

Publications & Presentations

  • Chapter Co-Author, Trial Techniques for the Labor and Employment Law Practitioner, Bloomberg/BNA, 2019