Attorney Profiles

Biography

Baron & Budd has long protected individuals from corporate wrongdoing. Under the leadership of Patrick O’Connell, the firm is also fighting corporate fraud against the government. Baron & Budd’s Qui Tam litigation team fights on behalf of government entities and individual whistleblowers to recover damages caused by corporate fraud. Qui Tam litigation allows an individual whistleblower to bring a lawsuit against a company he or she knows has committed fraud against the government and to share with the government in the recovery.

Before becoming Special Counsel to Baron & Budd, Pat was head of the Texas Attorney General’s Civil Medicaid Fraud Section. He led a team of ten lawyers who successfully recovered money for Texas taxpayers that had been stolen from Medicaid by corporate and individual wrongdoers, including hospitals, doctors and pharmaceutical companies. Three times, Pat has been called upon to testify before committees of the U.S. Congress on Medicaid fraud issues.

In addition to recovering the money that these companies have taken from public funds, Pat’s vigilance on behalf of our clients are the best chance we have to deter companies from continuing to cheat the government. Pat points out that whistleblowers are vital to stopping corporate fraud: “We rely on whistleblowers to expose fraud so the statute offers them a financial incentive to come forward. I am honored to be in the position to hold corporations accountable when they defraud our government.”

Texas Lawyer named Pat one of the top 50 in-house lawyers in Texas for his work with the Texas Attorney General’s Civil Medicaid Fraud Section. And in September 2007, he received the Honest Abe Integrity in Government Award from the Taxpayers Against Fraud for making Texas a leader in curbing fraud through the use of a state False Claims Act. Pat was the first state government lawyer ever honored with this prestigious award. He is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell, its highest rating.

In 2005, the Texas Observer published an article outlining the history of Qui Tam cases and the extraordinary results Pat has been able to achieve on behalf of Texas taxpayers. See Texas Goes After Big Pharma. Pat has joined Baron & Budd to make his experience in Texas available to curb corporate fraud against state governments across the country.

Pat opened the Austin office of Baron & Budd in 2007. He and his wife, Jan Soifer, are active in numerous charities and non-profit entities in the Austin area. In his spare time, Pat enjoys handball, golf, scuba diving, skiing, and supporting his Texas Longhorns.