Patrick D. Filbin

A member of the firm’s Professional Liability Practice Group, Patrick D. Filbin concentrates his practice on the defense of attorneys and accountants in malpractice litigation.

Mr. Filbin received his undergraduate degree from James Madison College at Michigan State University. After graduating, he went to Washington D.C. to work as a lobbyist and as a Legislative Assistant to U.S. Representative Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa), a member of the House Banking Committee. Mr. Filbin left Capitol Hill to attend Thomas M. Cooley Law School, where he was an associate editor of the school’s Law Review. 

Through the College of William & Mary’s School of Law, Mr. Filbin studied international law and economics at the University of London and Exeter University (England) before returning to Thomas M. Cooley, where he graduated cum laude.

Mr. Filbin has been a practicing attorney since 1992, and is a member of the State Bar of Michigan.

Representative Client Work

• Defended lawyers throughout the State of Michigan against claims of legal malpractice/professional negligence
• Defended legal malpractice cases with underlying claims involving intellectual property, taxation, probate, bankruptcy, banking, real estate, medical malpractice and business litigation
• Defended a prominent Detroit-area attorney against claims of wrong-doing relating to multi-million dollar investments in a variety of business settings
• Represented lawyers before the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission
• Defended certified public accountants against claims of malpractice pertaining to tax engagements, reviews, audits and financial compilations
• Tried legal malpractice cases in bench trials and before juries in the district and circuit courts in Michigan in addition to Federal Court

Published Cases

• Hughes v Region VII Area Agency on Aging, 277 Mich App 268, 744 NW2d 10 (2007)
• Bartell v Lohiser et al, 215 F3d 550 (6^th Cir. 2000)
• Cain v Lansing Housing Commission, 235 Mich App 566 (1999)
• Board of County Road Commissioners for the County of Oakland v Michigan Property & Casualty Guaranty Association, 218 Mich App 342 (1996), affirmed 456 Mich 590 (1998)

Professional Affiliations

• State Bar of Michigan
• Michigan Defense Trial Counsel
• Incorporated Society of Irish-American Lawyers

Publications

• “Accounting Malpractice Avoidance,” Michigan Association of Certified Public Accounts (MACPA), Continuing Education Program, 2007
• Comment, “Pictures At An Execution”, 9 Cooley Law Rev 137 (1992)
• Article, “ A Closer Look at the Family and Medical Leave Act”, 7 Mich L.W. 625 (1993) republished, 7 Missouri L.W. 299 (1993)

News

• Plunkett Cooney names Filbin as its newest shareholder