Patricia focuses her practice on workers’ compensation, employment & labor, casualty/tort litigation, and appellate advocacy.

Before joining Heyl Royster, Patricia worked for legal assistance representing indigent clients in domestic relations cases in Illinois state court, as well as preparing estate planning documents for elderly clients. During the summer of 2014, she clerked for Judge Lisa Fabiano, and during the summer of 2015 she clerked for Judge Eugene Doherty – both of the 17th Judicial Circuit. In her third year of law school, Patricia clerked for the Shannon Law Group in Woodridge, IL, where she was responsible for cases involving consumer rights and breach of contract.

Patricia received her Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from Northern Illinois University College of Law. She received her Bachelors of Arts degree, magna cum laude, in Psychology from Arizona State University, and she worked full-time during college. While in law school, Patricia was a three-year member of the Dean’s list. Among her law school honors and activities: she was a recipient of the NIU Outstanding Woman Student Award, a champion of the school’s Lenny Mandell Moot Court Competition and Client Counseling Competition, and a semi-finalist in the LLSA National Moot Court Competition. She was president of the Student Bar Association.

• “Jurisdictional Concerns in Workers’ Compensation Appeals From the Circuit to Appellate Court,” Illinois Defense Counsel Quarterly (2019)
• “A Seventh Circuit Reminder: Consistency is Key,” Illinois Parks Association Risk Services Newsletter (2018) – Download Article
• “A #metoo Primer: Sexual Harassment & Employer Liability,” Employer’s Edge - Heyl Royster Employment Newsletter (2018) - Read Article
• “A Seventh Circuit Reminder: Consistency is Key,” Employer’s Edge - Heyl Royster Employment Newsletter (2018) - Read Article
• “Judicial Reviews in the New World of eFiling,” Illinois Defense Counsel Quarterly (2018) - Download Article
• “Paying Temporary Total Disability Benefits After Retirement?” Below the Red Line, Heyl Royster Workers’ Compensation Newsletter (2017) - Read Article

• “Human Resources Workshop”
  Rockford Area Society for Human Resource Management 2018
• “One’s path into the Legal Profession”
  Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois’ GoodGRADS Class (Rockford) 2017
• “Lenny Mandell Moot Court Competition Champion”
  Northern Illinois University 2015
• “National Latino/a Law Students Association Moot Court Competition Semi Finalist”
  Northwestern University 2015
• “National Latino/a Law Students Association Moot Court Competition Quarter Finalist”
  Texas Tech 2014

• Illinois Bar Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow (2016-2017)
• Northern Illinois University College of Law recipient of the "Outstanding Contribution to the College of Law Community" Award (2015)
• Northern Illinois University recipient of the "Outstanding Woman Student" Award (2015)

• American Bar Association
• Illinois State Bar Association
• Winnebago County Bar Association
• Chicago Bar Association

• State Courts of Illinois

• Pro bono attorney for the Prairie State Legal Services Domestic Violence Volunteer Lawyer Program