Patrick Butler serves as the Deputy General Counsel for Litigation at the Department of Commerce. He leads and manages litigation spanning the Department’s thirteen bureaus, providing legal and strategic advice to the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, and other senior leaders while coordinating with White House counsel and interagency lawyers. Before joining the Department, Patrick was an associate at Kirkland & Ellis, where his practice focused on complex commercial litigation including product liability cases, antitrust suits, consumer class actions, contract disputes, and regulatory matters. 

 Before entering private practice, Patrick clerked for Judge Michael B. Brennan on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and Judge James C. Dever III on the Eastern District of North Carolina. He is a permanent member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference, and earned his law degree from Duke University School of law, his masters degree from University College Dublin, and his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame.