Patrick T. O'Connor joined Oliver Maner LLP as a partner on January 1, 1990. His practice concentrates on business litigation, the defense of civil rights claims and the defense of legal malpractice and other professional negligence claims. Mr. O’Connor also represents plaintiffs in select personal injury and wrongful death cases. Mr. O'Connor has been licensed to practice in all Georgia courts including the Georgia Supreme Court and the Georgia Court of Appeals, and numerous federal courts including the U. S. Supreme Court, the Courts of Appeal for the Sixth, Eleventh and Federal Circuits, the United States Court of Federal Claims, and the Southern, Middle and Northern Districts of Georgia.
Mr. O’Connor served as the 54th President of the State Bar of Georgia from 2016-2017. Mr. O'Connor previously served as President - Elect and Treasurer of the State Bar of Georgia (2015-2016).
Mr. O’Connor is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America (in the categories of commercial litigation, legal malpractice law and alternative dispute resolution). He has twice been listed in the annual Top 10 Georgia Super Lawyers by Atlanta Magazine and 14 times has been listed in the Top 100. He has also been listed in the Super Lawyers’ Corporate Counsel Edition, and has received an "AV" rating from Martindale-Hubbell for many years. Mr. O’Connor has also been recognized as a member of the Georgia Legal Elite by Georgia Trend Magazine and has been recognized by Best Lawyers in several categories, including Savannah Lawyer of the Year in Mediation (2019) and Bet-The-Company Litigation (2020).
Mr. O’Connor is also a mediator and arbitrator, registered with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution and The American Arbitration Association, and has served as a mediator or arbitrator in more than 1,200 cases, primarily involving personal injury, professional malpractice claims and commercial disputes. He is a founding member of the Georgia Academy of Mediators and Arbitrators.
From 1985 to 1995, Mr. O’Connor served as a Judge Pro Tempore for the Savannah-Chatham County Recorder's Court. From 1985 to 1989, he served as an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Savannah and continues to represent the City of Savannah. He has handled the defense of several hundred cases for municipalities, counties and their employees throughout Georgia. He presently represents numerous municipalities and counties on behalf of the Georgia Interlocal Risk Management Agency (GIRMA) and the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia Interlocal Risk Management Agency (ACCG-IRMA).
Mr. O’Connor has obtained favorable results for his clients in numerous reported appeals. Notable decisions include: Drumm v. George, 345 Ga. App. 760 (2018); Mayor and Alderman of Garden City v. Harris, 302 Ga. 853 (2018); City of Richmond Hill v. Maia, 301 Ga. 257 (2017); Garden City v. Herrera, 329 Ga. App. 756 (2014); We, The Taxpayers v. Board of Tax Assessors of Effingham County, 292 Ga. 31 (2012); Pollman v. Swan, 289 Ga. 767 (2011); King v. Toler, 296 Ga. App. 577 (2009); Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Savannah v. Stevens, 278 Ga. 166 (2004); CSX Transportation, Inc. v. City of Garden City, 277 Ga. 248 (2003); Cameron v. Lang, 274 Ga. 122 (2001); City of Tybee Island v. Godinho, 270 Ga. 567 (1999); Hunter, Maclean, Exley & Dunn, P.C. v. Frame, 269 Ga. 844 (1998); Mayor & Aldermen of Savannah v. Radford, 261 Ga. 129 (1991); Banks v. Patton, 202 Ga. App. 168 (1991); Cyr v. Mayor and Aldermen of Savannah, 188 Ga. App. 261 (1988); Shuman v. Mayor and Aldermen of Savannah, 180 Ga. App. 427 (1986); and Sammor v. Mayor and Aldermen of Savannah, 176 Ga. App. 176 (1985).
Mr. O’Connor served as the 1995-96 President of the Savannah Bar Association. He also served as President of the Young Lawyers Section of the Savannah Bar Association. He is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, the American Board of Trial Advocates and the Federal Bar Association. Mr. O'Connor has served as a member of the Board of Governors of the State Bar of Georgia and the Executive Committee of the State Bar of Georgia and was Secretary of the State Bar from 2014-2015, Treasurer of the State Bar from 2015-2016, President Elect from 2015-2016, and President from 2016-2017. He is the only person to hold the office of President-Elect and Treasurer simultaneously. He has served as member of the Georgia ICLE Board of Trustees and is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. He has served as a member of the State of Georgia Disciplinary Board-Review Panel. Mr. O’Connor has also served as the Chairman of the Southern District of Georgia Lawyers Advisory Committee, is currently a member of the 11th Circuit Lawyer Qualifications Committee and has served as a member of the State Bar of Georgia Commission on Continuing Lawyer Competency. He has also been appointed by the Georgia Supreme Court to serve as a Mentor in The State Bar of Georgia’s Transition Into Law Practice Program. He served as a member of the Judicial Council of Georgia (2016-2017), a member of the Georgia Commission on Dispute Resolution, served on the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism (2016-2017), and The Georgia Bar Foundation (2016-2017). Governor Nathan Deal appointed Mr. O’Connor to Georgia’s Judicial Nominating Commission in 2011 and he served in that role through 2018.
Mr. O’Connor has received several law related honors including the Savannah Bar Association’s Judge Frank Cheatham Award (for professionalism) (2009), and the Georgia Legal Services’ Champion of Justice Award (2019).
After graduating from Statesboro High School in 1973, Mr. O'Connor received his B.A. degree from Auburn University in 1978. A journalism major, Mr. O'Connor wrote for several newspapers, including the Columbus Enquirer, The Birmingham News, The Auburn Plainsman and The Auburn Bulletin. He attended the University of Georgia Law School where he participated on the Georgia Intrastate Moot Court Team, served as Vice-Chairman of the Georgia Moot Court Board and coached Georgia's National Moot Court Team to the quarter-final round of the national competition in New York in 1981. Mr. O'Connor received his J.D. degree from Georgia in 1981.
Mr. O’Connor served as Chair of the Savannah Country Day School Board of Trustees from 2014-2016, served as a member of the Georgia Southern University Foundation Board of Trustees (2006-2016) and is a member of the Auburn University Dean’s Advisory Council for the School of Liberal Arts. He served as a member of the Board of Directors of Horizons Savannah, and as President of the Savannah Civitan Club, as Captain of the Savannah Quarterback Club and as Chairman of Deacons for the Ardsley Park Baptist Church. He has served as President of the Coastal Empire Council of the Boy Scouts of America and received the Boy Scouts’ Silver Beaver Award. Mr. O’Connor is a member of the St. Andrew’s Society and The Hibernian Society of Savannah. He is a graduate of the Leadership Savannah Program and is a member of Savannah’s St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee. Mr. O'Connor is a past National President of Theta Chi Fraternity, which has more than 150 chapters nationwide. He now serves as litigation coordinator for the Fraternity.
Mr. O'Connor is married to the former Carol Darby of Statesboro, and they have three children, Daniel Tyler (Maggie), Thomas Patrick (Kelly), and John Tate (Mary Grace). Mr. and Mrs. O’Connor have six grandchildren, Liam Patrick O’Connor, Daniel Tyler O’Connor, Jr., Margaret Grace O’Connor, John Tate O’Connor, Jr., Carolyn Joy O’Connor and Banks Monroe O’Connor.
