With over twenty years of lead counsel experience, Patrick J. O’Connor heads the robust litigation practice at O’Connor Hernández. Mr. O’Connor litigates complex commercial matters in state and federal courts throughout the nation, including the United States Supreme Court. He also pursues the arbitration of domestic and international disputes before a variety of arbitration bodies, including the American Arbitration Association, the International Chamber of Commerce, and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes of the World Bank.

Mr. O’Connor began his legal career as a legislative intern to the late United States Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan in Washington, DC. He obtained his juris doctor from Georgetown University Law Center, which has often been recognized as the top law school in the nation for the practice of international law. He also studied for an extended period in the doctorate of laws program at the Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Guatemala. Mr. O’Connor is fluent in Spanish, and represents Spanish-speaking corporate and individual clients on a daily basis.

Mr. O’Connor began litigating competition policy and antitrust claims with Blumenfeld & Cohen in Washington, DC, where he represented Consumers Union before the United States Supreme Court in Verizon Communications., Inc. v. Law Office of Curtis V. Trinko, LLP, 540 U.S. 398 (2004). He proceeded to litigate a broad spectrum of complex commercial matters with DLA Piper, also in Washington, DC. Moving to Miami in 2003, Mr. O’Connor represented clients in complex international commercial matters with Squire Patton Boggs. In 2010, Mr. O’Connor became an equity partner in Harper Meyer Perez Hagen O’Connor Albert & Dribin LLP, where he was head of the litigation department for more than ten years.

Mr. O’Connor is licensed to practice in Florida, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, and he is a member of the bar of numerous federal district and appeals courts, including the United States Supreme Court.  Mr. O’Connor is also a Circuit Civil Mediator, which is a designation certificated by the Florida Supreme Court.  Mr. O’Connor has lectured on the subject of telecommunications law at the Georgetown University Law Center, and he has been recognized for expertise in competition policy by the International Legal Resource Center.  He has authored numerous articles and frequently presented on matters of both competition policy and international law.  He has been and remains a member of various corporate boards of directors and advisors.

In addition to the practice of law, Mr. O’Connor is a novelist.  His novel, The Last Will and Testament of Lemuel Higgins, was shortlisted for the 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel of the Year and won the 2012 USA News Best Book Award for Cross-Genre Fiction.  More about Mr. O’Connor’s writing may be found at his author page.