The episode begins with a discussion of how Pat went from graduating Yale Law School to becoming one of the nation's leading medical malpractice plaintiff's trial lawyers. Pat talks about how he started as a newspaper reporter covering malpractice trials, and was drawn to this field even before attending law school. Pat talks about what drew him to medical malpractice cases, why these cases are hard for plaintiffs to win and strategies he has used for success, including lessons he has applied from his groundbreaking work co-authored with Rick Friedman, Rules of the Road. Pat later adapted the "rules" approach to medical malpractice cases in his book, Winning Medical Malpractice Cases with the Rules of the Road Technique.
Pat discusses how his own personal journey raising an autistic son brought him face to face with the medical establishment and helped him to develop his own sense of empathy--a trait which has helped him relate to clients with similar struggles.
Pat discussed his latest book, The Fearless Cross Examiner. He explains why some of the commonly-taught techniques for cross examination are wrong and how he has developed some better approaches. He explores both the technical and human aspects of cross examination.
