A native of Massachusetts, Patrick received his J.D. from Harvard Law School and his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. During law school, Patrick served as an Executive Articles Editor for the Harvard Journal on Legislation, participated in the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic and Capital Punishment Clinic, and was a member of the Harvard Defenders student practice organization. Before joining Williams & Connolly, he clerked for Judge Diana Gribbon Motz of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.