Wendy L. Patrick

Wendy L. Patrick is a career trial attorney, recognized by her peers as one of the Top Ten criminal attorneys in San Diego by the San Diego Daily Transcript, and named the Public Lawyer of the Year by the California State Bar Public Law Section. Dr. Patrick has completed over 160 trials ranging from hate crimes, to domestic violence, to first-degree murder. In her current assignment in the Special Operations Division she handles cases involving sensitive issues including threat assessment. She is President of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP) San Diego Chapter, and an ATAP Certified Threat Manager. In her previous assignment in the Sex Crimes and Human Trafficking Division, Dr. Patrick prosecuted sexually violent predators, human traffickers, stalkers, rapists, and child molesters. She has served as Co-Chair of the statewide California District Attorneys Association Sexual Violent Predators Committee and Human Trafficking Committee. Dr. Patrick speaks to community groups, law enforcement organizations, and a wide variety of legal and educational institutions both nationally and internationally about threat assessment, cutting edge investigation and use of social media, the methodology of sexual predators and stalkers, and how to increase public awareness and protect the community. Her PhD thesis focused on the psychology of attraction as used by criminals and manipulators in society, and how to spot the red flags. Dr. Patrick has lectured nationally and internationally on the topics of sexual assault, domestic violence and human trafficking. She has taught human trafficking within the United States, as well as in Hong Kong, South Korea, and South Africa. She frequently teaches sexual assault prevention for the Army, having presented programs domestically as well as in various locations in Germany. She has been involved with the San Diego Domestic Violence Council, the San Diego Child Protection Team, and the Sexual Assault Response Team, from whom she received the SART Response with a Heart Award based on her significant contribution to the professional field of sexual assault prosecution. She also lectures frequently on topics involving the safe use of social media, cyber crime, and threat assessment. Dr. Patrick is a past Chair and Advisor of the California State Bar Ethics Committee (Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct), and past Chair of the San Diego County Bar Association’s (SDCBA) Legal Ethics Committee where she served a six-year term. She is widely published in the field of legal ethics, had her own ethics column in the San Diego Daily Transcript for more than a decade, and teaches ethics nationally on a regular basis. Dr. Patrick frequently shares her knowledge as a media analyst. Offering legal, business, and lifestyle commentary, she has over 2,500 media appearances. A frequent guest on CNN, Fox News Channel, and Fox Business Network, she has also appeared on HLN´s Nancy Grace and the Daily Share, The Blaze TV, and a variety of other national and international programs. As a behavioral expert, she has her own regular segment “Spotted” on Australia´s Seven Network. Awards and Recognitions In addition to being selected as one of the Top Ten criminal attorneys in San Diego and named the Ronald M. George Public Lawyer of the Year, Dr. Patrick received an Outstanding Achievement Award from the San Diego Deputy District Attorneys Association, recognized by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors by declaring October 8, 2013 to be “Wendy Patrick Day” throughout San Diego County. Dr. Patrick received the Sexual Assault Response Team Response With a Heart Award, the Service to the San Diego County Bar Association award, the Friend of the Community Award from the Tom Homann Law Association for her work prosecuting hate crimes, and was recognized as one of San Diego Metropolitan Magazine’s 40 under 40 honorees. Educational Background Dr. Patrick received her Ph.D. from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David and her Master of Divinity degree summa cum laude from Bethel Seminary San Diego where she was awarded the Excellence in Preaching Award and the Zondervan Biblical Languages Award. She is ordained through Converge Worldwide/ Baptist General Conference. She received her law degree from California Western School of Law, and her Bachelor’s degree in psychology with honors from the University of California Los Angeles. Her legal education was multi-cultural and included study in Vienna, Austria, Budapest, Hungary, and with a Barrister firm in London, England. Dr. Patrick is admitted to practice law in California, the United States District Court in the Southern District of California, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. Publications and Editorial Boards Dr. Patrick is published on a regular basis. She is author of Red Flags: How to Spot Frenemies, Underminers, and Other Toxic People in Every Area of Your Life (St. Martin´s Press, 2015), and co-author of the revised version of the New York Times bestseller Reading People (Random House 2008). She is also author of Using the Psychology of Attraction in Christian Outreach: Lessons from the Dark Side (Peter Lang 2013). Dr. Patrick was a contributing author to the Encyclopedia of Race and Racism (Macmillan Reference 2007) and Hate Crimes: Causes, Controls, and Controversies (SAGE 2004). She is published frequently in the Los Angeles Daily Journal, has authored several articles for The Practical Litigator (ALI ABA national publication), and wrote a monthly ethics MCLE article for the California Bar Journal for years. Dr. Patrick is also a writer and past editorial Board member for the national American Inns of Court publication The Bencher. Dr. Patrick has an online column in Psychology Today, a regular column in Law Enforcement Quarterly, and had her own ethics column in the San Diego Daily Transcript for over a decade. She has been quoted in a variety of sources such as USA Today, US News and World Report, Washington Post, Associated Press, Bloomberg Businessweek, CSNBC, CNN.com, and The Christian Science Monitor. Teaching Experience Dr. Patrick is a faculty member at San Diego State University where she teaches upper division business ethics in the Management Department of the College of Business Administration, both on campus and abroad—including teaching in Barcelona, Spain, and Prague, Czech Republic. She also served as a Lead Instructor for the Law Enforcement & Public Safety Leadership Program at the University of San Diego Master of Science Program where she taught Communication for Law Enforcement Leaders. She taught American Government and Christianity at Horizon University, and regularly guest lectures at other educational institutions. In the legal realm, Dr. Patrick has been teaching ethics, trial skills, and other subjects around the country on a regular basis for nearly twenty years to a variety of legal and business organizations. She has served as an instructor for national and international audiences through programs like the National Institute of Trial Advocacy and the National College of District Attorneys, as well as for educational institutions, law firms, and other professional groups. Dr. Patrick has presented to audiences as diverse as Crown prosecutors in Canada, to Army leadership in Wiesbaden, Germany, to Christian lawyers in Hong Kong, to law students in South Korea. She is also an Institute of Criminal Investigation certified instructor for law enforcement, and an Association of Threat Assessment Professionals Certified Threat Manager. In a different genre of teaching, Dr. Patrick presents motivational seminars, keynote speeches, and workshops on topics related to social media, reading people, persuasion, and impression management. She is a frequent conference-opening speaker around the country on the subjects of “Reading People,” “The Psychology of Attraction,” “Reading Red Flags,” “The Dark Side of Social Media,” “Effective Communication with Difficult People,” and related subjects. Professional Associations Dr. Patrick is president of the Christian Legal Society Metro New York chapter, president of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals San Diego Chapter, and a Master, Team Leader, Executive Board member, and Programs Chair for the Louis M. Welsh American Inn of Court. She is also an elected member of the American Law Institute, and a member of the San Diego District Attorney Inter-Faith Advisory Board. She is a past Vice President of both the SDCBA and Lawyers Club of San Diego where she also served as Programs Chair, former Advisor to the California State Bar Criminal Law Section Executive Committee, and a past Board member of the California District Attorneys Association, San Diego Crime Victim’s Fund, the Society Club of the American Cancer Society, the County of San Diego Alcohol and Drug Advisory Board, and the San Diego Chapter of the National Speakers Association. Regarding community service, she is a longtime member of the Rotary Club, with perfect attendance. On a personal note, Dr. Patrick holds a purple belt in Shorin-Ryu karate, is a concert violinist with the La Jolla Symphony, and plays the electric violin professionally with a rock band, performing both locally and in Hollywood.