×

Please be aware that contacting us via e-mail does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and the firm. Do not send confidential information to the firm until you have spoken with one of our attorneys and receive authorization to send such materials. Until an attorney-client relationship has been established, we cannot consider information you send us as confidential.

I understand and wish to proceed

Patrick Sweeney

"It is a good thing to follow the First Law of Holes: if you are in one, stop digging."

Denis Healey

Key Service Areas

  • Dispute Resolution and Litigation Services
  • Appellate Law

616.233.5262

legal assistant - Kathy Haisma

About Patrick

How do you help businesses and individuals?

I concentrate my practice representing clients in state and federal courts, with a focus on complex commercial litigation, real estate and zoning disputes, construction disputes, and appellate law. My experience includes representing individuals and businesses in a wide range of actions, including contractual disputes, fiduciary obligations and disputes between owners of closely-held businesses, products liability, commercial landlord/tenant matters, and construction lien foreclosures.

What sets you apart from other lawyers in your practice field?

Before entering private practice, I worked in the Michigan Supreme Court as a law clerk. In that capacity, I was able to see not only myriad styles of advocacy in complex matters, but also the inner workings of a sophisticated court. My time spent working with some of the most experienced jurists in the state, who often approach legal issues from different points of view, gave me some good insight into how issues should be framed and how cases should be argued.

What case did you find the most rewarding to work on?

Before I joined Rhoades McKee, I worked with coal miners in West Virginia seeking federal benefits for pneumoconiosis, or “Black Lung.” I took over a claim involving a deserving retired miner whose case had some weaknesses. I felt that the coal company’s attorney was not taking the matter seriously and did not expect it to go to a hearing. I decided to push for the hearing as scheduled, prepared all of the evidence within 4 months, and presented the claim. The client received the benefits to which he was entitled, and which he sorely needed.

Education

Washington and Lee University School of Law, J.D., summa cum laude, order of the coif, 2014

Central Michigan University, B.S., Economics, summa cum laude, 2010

Q: What do you enjoy most about being a lawyer?

A:

The unpredictability. Practicing law can be at times, tedious, frustrating, depressing, or infuriating. But no matter the challenges that one day brings, you never know what will happen the next. Your job as a lawyer is always changing, and that constant change keeps things interesting.

Associations

Grand Rapids Bar Association

State Bar of Michigan

American Bar Association - Tort, Trial & Insurance Practice Section

March of Dimes West Michigan Signature Chef Auction, Board Member

Lakeshore Regional Entity Substance Abuse Oversight Policy Board

Bar Admission

Michigan

Stay Informed

Join our mailing list today

+