Whalen, Patrick J.
Whalen, Patrick J.
Patrick is Chairman of the firm. He previously served on the Firm's Executive Committee, as Co-Chair of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group, and as the immediate past Chair of the Intellectual Property Committee of the American Bar Association's Business Law Section. He assists clients in each stage of their business relationships, from the negotiation of agreements to the trial of business disputes. Patrick's practice focuses on protecting companies' intellectual property, confidential data, and other intangible assets.
Patrick has litigated hundreds of trademark, trade secret, copyright, Internet, unfair competition, business torts, and other commercial cases in courts throughout the United States. The trial of commercial disputes provides Patrick with unique perspective when counseling clients on the formation of their business relationships. He has drafted and negotiated license, joint venture, website, as well as numerous other strategic and partnering agreements.
He has spoken before industry groups and practicing lawyers at numerous conferences and seminars throughout the country. Patrick serves on several committees of the American Bar Association, including the Business Law Section's Cyberspace Committee and the Litigation Section's Committee on Business Torts. He has spoken extensively on the discovery of electronic data and counsels clients on electronic records and management procedures.
Patrick is licensed to practice in Missouri, Illinois, Texas, and Kansas as well as various federal district and appellate courts throughout the country. He received his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law. He also holds Masters and Bachelor degrees in Business and Economics, respectively.
Speaking and writing engagements to his credit include the following: Internet Law (National Business Institute, Overland Park, Kansas); Discovery of Electronic Evidence (with Deloitte & Touche, St. Louis, Missouri and Overland Park, Kansas); Protecting Intellectual Property (The Missouri Bar Annual Meeting, Kansas City, Missouri); CyberSabotage (Marcus Evans, Miami, Florida); E-Commerce Strategies in the Automotive Parts Industry (Clemson University Annual Conference, Hilton Head, South Carolina); The Evolving Legal Environment for Electronic Commerce (Deloitte & Touche Corporate Counsel Forum, Kansas City, Missouri); Emerging Internet Legal Developments (Kansas City, Missouri); CyberCrime in Electronic Commerce (Miami, Florida); E-Commerce Conference on Emerging Business and Legal Models (Conference Chair and speaker, Overland Park, Kansas); Digital Signatures and the Next Wave of Electronic Commerce (Kansas City Small Business Monthly); Uniform Trade Secret Act and the Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine (Business Torts Handbook, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association); Covenants Not to Compete (Lorman Education Services, Kansas City, Missouri); Trade Secrets Protection Strategies (Lorman Education Services, Kansas City, Missouri); The Missouri Bar Annual Update; Jury Decision Making As a Strategic Decision Making Process (Midwest Academy of Legal Studies in Business); and Notice: The Lost Element (Co-author, National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel).
