Patricia Hamill has extensive years of experience successfully representing clients spanning a breadth of matters, including complex commercial litigation, Title IX litigation, receiverships, insurance, securities, consumer class actions, government investigations, and E-rate compliance. Her clients are in a wide range of industries, including technology, insurance, and securities.
Patricia is uniquely adept at transforming worst-case scenarios into successful resolutions. She possesses the wisdom and keen intuition one would expect of a litigator with her decades of experience, but she also manages to bring a fresh burst of energy and determination to each new case. She offers responsive service and genuine empathy to each client; she never takes for granted the emotional impact that a high-stakes case can have on her clients. Patricia brings a collaborative approach to handling her clients’ issues, and she tenaciously pursues creative, strategic solutions.
As Chair of the Title IX, Due Process and Campus Discipline practice, Patricia represents college students and professors nationwide who are subjected to campus disciplinary proceedings or who have been disciplined by their colleges for alleged sexual misconduct following such proceedings. She has represented close to 200 students and professors nationwide in disciplinary matters or related litigation involving more than 70 colleges and universities. Patricia is also sought out by groups and institutions for her opinion on how to work within the framework of the changing federal laws and guidance. Given her expertise, she was invited to testify before the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) at the full committee hearing on “Reauthorizing HEA: Addressing Campus Sexual Assault and Ensuring Student Safety and Rights” in Washington DC (April 2019) (read the press release, read Patricia's opening statement, or watch Patricia's opening statement).
In addition to her practice, Patricia is also a member of the firm’s three-person executive committee that manages and oversees the firm.
University of Maryland Law School, J.D., with honors, 1986
Bryn Mawr College, B.A., 1981
The Honorable Frank J. Montemuro, Jr., Superior Court of Pennsylvania (1986–1988)
Practice Areas & Experience
Achieved a favorable settlement for a student who was expelled shortly before the end of his senior year. His college concluded our client had participated in livestreaming a consensual sexual encounter between two other students, though even the alleged female victim told the college he was not involved. The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights found the college in violation of Title IX, concluding it had not provided our client (or other accused male students) with essential procedural protections and had not followed the safeguards provided for in its own disciplinary policies and procedures. Faced with a potential federal lawsuit, the college agreed to make a substantial monetary payment, vacate the finding of responsibility and sanctions against our client, and give him a clean record.
Represented a male student in litigation against a private university near Chicago, challenging the result of the sexual misconduct disciplinary finding that resulted in the student’s extended exclusion from the university and which required reapplication without a guarantee of re-admission and with a permanent disciplinary notation on his record. The lawsuit was filed in federal district court and asserted violations of Title IX and breach of contract. The case settled within five months of filing the complaint.
Patricia has spent more than 20 years appearing in federal and state courts throughout the country, representing Fortune 500 companies to successfully defend consumer fraud and securities class action lawsuits as well as other complex commercial litigation. Patricia also routinely represents her corporate clients in business-to-business litigation and has substantial experience in successfully representing companies in False Claims Act and other whistleblower litigation.
Patricia serves as the court-appointed receiver, with Conrad O’Brien attorneys acting as counsel, in an action brought by the FTC against entities in the technical support services industry who are alleged to have misrepresented their services to tens of thousands of customers who paid at least $17.9 million for the allegedly fraudulent services. As receiver, Patricia was tasked with taking control of the business operations of corporate defendants and securing two separate physical locations, several virtual offices, and numerous financial accounts, websites, and phone numbers. She continues to preserve and administer the assets of the receivership estate.
Patricia serves as the court-appointed receiver, with Conrad O’Brien attorneys acting as lead counsel, in an action brought by the FTC in federal court in the Western District of New York, against entities and individuals in the debt collections industry found to be conducting business in violation of the Fair Debt Collections Act (FDCA) and related state statutes. The FTC determined that an excess of $8 million was collected by the agencies from individual consumers using unlawful practices. Patricia and her counsel worked in conjunction with the government to assess the nature of the agencies’ practices; halt all collection activities; manage the remaining operations of the agencies; handle a variety of employment, payroll, and tax issues; collect, analyze, and respond to a variety of claims made against the agencies; and worked with forensic accountants to recover and maximize the assets of the receivership.
"My family engaged the firm (led by Patricia Hamill) at the worst time in our lives.[She was] calm, strategic, fully committed and 100 percent honest. Total integrity. Great team. Patricia (who I called at all hours) led this with every molecule in her most impressive brain and in her deep soul. She truly cared and she personally embraced us. She is a gem of the rarest quality and will be a dear friend, and profoundly appreciated, for the rest of our lives. She saved our precious family and refused to let lies prevail."
Campus Discipline Client
"I have worked closely with Patricia. I can attest that she’s very smart, knows her stuff, and has great judgment. She’s also a pleasure to work with and have on your team (whether you’re the client or co-counsel), and she’s tough when need be yet comes off very reasonable to courts/hearing officers."
Title IX Co-Counsel
"She is an excellent civil trial litigator with the full range of trial skills."
Chambers USA 2020
When not working, Patricia spends time with her family and continues her lifelong pursuit of physical fitness, which began in backyard pickup games with her five older brothers, continued through her years in college co-captaining the field hockey and lacrosse teams, and continues today with yoga, bicycling, and hiking (or sometimes just walking the dog!). Patricia has served as the chair of the personnel committee at her church, the Unitarian Society of Germantown, and is a former board member of PathWaysPA, a social service agency providing services and advocacy for women, children, and families.
Patricia is a frequent speaker and presenter regionally and nationally on Title IX litigation and complex commercial litigation.
"Regulation Reform: Public Hearings on Title IX Regulations and Guidance," Public Comment before the Department of Education; Washington, DC; October 4, 2017 (access Patricia's full comment here).