As Director of Mental Health Advocacy, Patrick oversees the individual legal representation of indigent citizens facing a deprivation of liberty in New Jersey's civil courts. About 16,000 civil commitment and guardianship hearings are assigned to the office staff each year.

Patrick is a lifelong advocate for individuals diagnosed with a mental illness.  In the summer of 1974, he began work as the supervising Field Representative in the Newark office of the newly created Public Advocate Division of Mental Health Advocacy. Hired as a PhD. candidate in psychology after having just completed a clinical internship, Patrick was part of the Division's plan to create an advocacy system that combined legal and clinical professionals as an advocacy team.

In the late 1970s, Patrick was promoted to the position of statewide Supervisor of the Field Representatives and transferred to the Director's office.  He completed his law school training and was admitted to practice law in 1986.  In that same year, he was made the first managing attorney of the Ocean /Monmouth Regional office of the Division.  He was appointed Deputy Director of the Division in 1989 and Director in 1998.  As Deputy Director, he served both as the Protection and Advocacy coordinator and, later, as the coordinator of the Developmentally Disabled Guardianship program.

He is a board member of the Community Support Program of New Jersey, a consumer run support and service program.  He teaches advanced mental health law at New York Law School and lectures on mental health advocacy and related legal issues.  His hobbies are woodworking and golf.