About Al
Al Patrick built a career that begins in the classroom and moves into the courtroom. He completed undergraduate studies in business and marketing at East Carolina University in 1977, returned for graduate business work in 1981, and attended law school at the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1982 before earning his J.D. at Wake Forest University School of Law in 1985. That sequence of study laid a practical foundation for work that would center on trials and courtroom practice.
His first public legal role came in 1986 as an Assistant District Lawyer in the Office of the District Lawyer for the 23rd Judicial District. The job involved prosecutorial responsibilities and early courtroom experience. He moved into private practice two years later, joining Anderson, Cox, Collier & Ennis as a trial lawyer in 1988. In 1994 he went on to Taft, Taft & Haigler, P.A., continuing in trial work and deepening his experience handling contested matters.
In 2004 Patrick opened his own practice, Lawyers East. Running a firm added management to his trial duties. It also provided a base from which he could maintain an active presence in the local bar and trial community. He has practiced in North Carolina and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, reflecting a practice that has included both state and federal matters.
Professional associations have been a steady part of his career. He joined the Southern Trial Lawyers Association in 2008 and remains a member. That same year he became involved with the Eastern North Carolina Inn of Court. From 2008 through 2012 he served on the Auto Torts Executive Committee of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice. He also sat on that group's Board of Governors and chaired its Auto Torts Section from 2011 to 2012. Those roles indicate an extended engagement with auto-tort issues and with trial practice organizations.
Colleagues and opposing counsel describe him as someone who prefers the courtroom to behind-the-scenes negotiation. He has decades of trial experience, gained in both public prosecution and private litigation. His cases have put him in front of juries and judges across the region. He balances case preparation and witness work with the business demands of running a small firm.
Outside courtrooms and committee meetings, he has continued to participate in professional exchanges and local legal institutions. That ongoing activity has kept him connected to trial developments and to other practitioners in Eastern North Carolina.
He currently practices at Lawyers East, concentrating on auto-tort litigation and trial work.
