Patrick McGinnis is a litigator with over sixteen years of experience trying cases in Texas federal and state district courts. He is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. McGinnis has litigated personal injury, product liability, premises liability and unfair or illegal business practices cases as well as general business and corporate litigation cases.
Patrick first established himself as a personal injury trial attorney, and still devotes a significant portion of his practice to personal injury cases, continuing to bring successful resolutions to and for his clients. He has secured over a hundred million dollars for his clients in settlement or verdict, including a large confidential settlement for a barge tanker man burned over 90 percent of his body by sulfuric acid due to a defective hose. Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams was first impressed with Mr. McGinnis in 2000 when McGinnis and GHW partner Ed Downing joint ventured a case involving a woman burned and killed as a result of a gas fired water heater igniting gasoline in a garage. Mr. Downing and Mr. McGinnis secured a hefty confidential settlement for the family.
After Hurricane Rita hit the Texas coast in 2005, Mr. McGinnis recovered millions of dollars for his residential and commercial clients. McGinnis is currently representing persons and businesses and accepting clients damaged by Hurricane Ike.
In 1995, when Mr. McGinnis was only 30 years old, the Most Reverend Joseph A. Galante, then Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Beaumont, appointed McGinnis as the Diocesan Attorney for the Diocese of Beaumont. At that time Mr. McGinnis was the youngest Diocesan Attorney in the United States. In conjunction with his representation of the Diocese of Beaumont, Mr. McGinnis is nationally known for his expertise in church construction contracts. He has been a featured speaker at the annual meeting of the National Diocesan Attorney Association in Washington, DC as well as the Texas Diocesan Attorneys Association in Austin, Texas on the topic of construction law contracts between religious owners, architects and contractors.
Mr. McGinnis is a member of the Jefferson County Bar Association, Harris County Bar Association, Woodlands Bar Association, Texas Bar Association, Bar Association of the Eastern District of Texas, and the Fifth Circuit Bar Association. Additionally, he is a member of the College of the State Bar of Texas. Mr. McGinnis also serves as Chairman of the State Bar of Texas District 3 Professionalism Enhancement Program Committee.
Mr. McGinnis graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1988 from the University of Texas at Austin. He earned his J.D. from Texas Tech University in 1991. After graduation from law school, McGinnis served as Senior Briefing Attorney to the Honorable Joe J. Fisher, Chief Judge Emeritus of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. He is licensed to practice in Texas state court, as well as the federal district courts in the Eastern and Southern Districts of Texas, and the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Pat is absolutely blessed with his wife Sharon and two beautiful daughters.