Matthew H. Patton joined the firm in 1963 and became partner in 1969. He is the firm’s senior trial lawyer and focuses his practice on civil litigation and other forms of dispute resolution. He has tried cases to federal and state courts throughout the country and has utilized mediation, mini-trials and arbitration since the 1970s. Many of his cases have been high profile and media intense. He approaches each case as though it will be tried, but constantly seeks ways to resolve disputes at the earliest possible time and in the most efficient and economic way.
Mr. Patton has tried cases involving employment, administrative, tort, government contracts, elections, commercial transactions, banking, intellectual property, real property, contract, probate, insurance, utility and other areas of law. Many have been complex and some have been class actions. In some of the appellate cases, Mr. Patton has succeeded in establishing precedents.
Mr. Patton was recognized as a Georgia “Super Lawyer” in General Litigation and Intellectual Property Litigation in 2009 and for Business Litigation in 2018 and the nine years immediately preceding by Super Lawyers magazine. He was recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® for Commercial Litigation in 2018 and the 11 years immediately preceding. In 2011, Mr. Patton received the Tradition of Excellence Award by the State Bar of Georgia. He is AV® rated by Martindale-Hubbell.*
*CV, BV, and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedure’s standards and policies.
Experience:
- The firm served as lead counsel for BellSouth in a highly-publicized dispute involving Sprint’s hiring of the second highest-ranking corporate officer at BellSouth to serve as Sprint’s then-CEO. The case involved claims for breach of non-competition and nondisclosure agreements and “inevitable misuse” of trade secrets. We obtained an injunction in arbitration prohibiting the executive’s disclosure of confidential information to Sprint and limiting his executive activities at Sprint to prevent the misuse of BellSouth’s trade secrets. BellSouth Corp. v. Forsee, 265 Ga. App. 589, 595 S.E.2d 99 (2004).
Education:
- Emory University, J.D. (1963)
- Duke University, B.A. (1958)
Admissions:
- Georgia (1963)
Cost
Rate : $$$