About Justice Jan Patterson
Justice Patterson was elected as Justice of the Texas Third Court of Appeals in 1998. She was born and raised in Austin, Texas. After graduating from the University of Texas and the University of Texas School of Law and clerking for a federal judge in New York City, Justice Patterson began her practice of law in civil litigation in New York City at Sullivan & Cromwell. She then became a federal prosecutor in New York where she served as a member of the Organized Crime Task Force and received awards for her narcotics and fraud prosecutions.
Upon returning home to Austin, she served as a federal prosecutor, an adjunct and assistant professor at the University of Texas School of Law, and a deputy special prosecutor in a federal criminal investigation. At the law school, Justice Patterson taught courses in war crimes, federal procedure, and The Ethics in Government Act. She returned to private practice and, at the time of her election, was a shareholder at an Austin law firm, practicing in both civil litigation and white collar criminal matters.
Justice Patterson has been active in bar organizations and is a frequent speaker and lecturer. Justice Patterson served as Chair of the Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas (composed of 8000 lawyers), chair of the appellate judges of the State Bar judiciary section, a trustee of the Texas Center for Legal Ethics and Professionalism, and currently serves as a member of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee. In 2003 she received the Travis County Women Lawyers' Association Outstanding Achievement Award. In 2003, she was recognized as the University of Texas Friars Outstanding Alumna. In the 2004 State Bar poll, she received support from almost 70% of the lawyers as best qualified to her opponent's 6%.
On May 15, 2004, Justice Patterson received a Masters Degree in Judicial Process from the University of Virginia Law School following a two-year degree program for a class of 28 appellate judges from across the country.