Patrick K. McCarthy
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Position
Associate
Education
University of South Carolina-Aiken (B.A., magna cum laude, Sociology, 1994)
University of South Carolina School of Law (J.D., cum laude, 1997)
Member, South Carolina Law Review
Member, Order of the Coif
Member, Order of the Wig and Robe
Bar Admissions
Florida
South Carolina
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida and District of South Carolina
U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals
Member
American Bar Association; Okaloosa-Walton County Bar Association
Areas of Practice
Commercial & Business Litigation
Real Estate Litigation
Construction Litigation
Commercial & Residential Development Consultation
Appellate Practice
Civil Rights Litigation
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Notable Cases
Doe v. Doe, 551 S.E. 2d 257 (S.C. 2001)
Labry v. Whitney Nat. Bank, 8 So. 3d 1239 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009)
For examples of appellate briefs written by Patrick, scroll to bottom of this page
Patrick grew up in Panama City, Florida before moving to South Carolina in high school. After receiving his law degree from the University of South Carolina in 1997, Patrick served as law clerk to Judge William L. Howard of the South Carolina Court of Appeals in Columbia, South Carolina. In 1998, he joined the law firm of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, an AmLaw 200 law firm with offices throughout the Southeast.
While at Nelson Mullins, Patrick honed his skills in litigation practicing primarily in the areas of pharmaceutical and medical device products liability defense. Patrick's litigation practice involved appearing in the state and federal courts of South Carolina in addition to serving as national coordinating counsel defending pharmaceutical companies in mass tort litigation. Patrick also focused his legal skills on representing those without a voice and received the firm's Claude M. Scarborough, Jr., Pro Bono Award for outstanding legal service to the poor in 1999. His pro bono cases included civil rights litigation and representation of children who were victims of physical abuse. One such case reached the Supreme Court of South Carolina and resulted in the decision of Doe v. Doe, 551 S.E. 2d 257 (S.C. 2001). In Doe, Patrick and other firm attorneys brought a civil action seeking damages on behalf of children sexually and physically abused by their father. In a case of first impression in South Carolina, the father’s criminal conviction was used to establish liability under the doctrine of offensive collateral estoppel. In its opinion, the state’s supreme court approved for the first time the use of offensive collateral estoppel to prevent those convicted of crimes from contesting civil liability in actions brought by their victims.
In late 2002, Patrick moved back to the Emerald Coast to form the Destin based real estate development firm Barefoot Development Group, LLC. Over the next 5 years, Patrick, along with his development partner, designed and developed three Gulf-front multi-family residential projects: Adagio in Blue Mountain Beach; Villa Coyaba in Destin; and Andante in Seacrest Beach. Although Patrick had little knowledge of real estate in the beginning, he quickly learned every facet of real estate development along the Gulf Coast. He was responsible for all areas of project development, including land acquisition, due diligence, regulatory approval, site and building design, financing, marketing and sales, and construction management. This experience in the local market gives Patrick a unique background and ability to assist current clients with legal and business solutions.
In 2008, Patrick resumed his practice of law joining Matthews & Hawkins, P.A. Pulling from his personal experience in commercial and residential development, Patrick devotes a large portion of his current legal practice to the areas of real estate and construction litigation and consulting. He also counsels clients on ways to avoid potential exposure in the same areas. In addition, Patrick handles a wide variety of other litgation matters, including: commercial and business civil litigation; civil rights and police misconduct litigation; and appeals before the state and federal appellate courts.
Patrick resides in Walton County along with his wife Jennifer and two young children.
Examples of appellate briefs written by Patrick
Junkin v. Emerald Grande, Inc. - United States 11th Circuit Court of Appeals
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Daake v. Jones - Florida First District Court of Appeal
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Labry v. Whitney National Bank - Florida First District Court of Appeal
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