Portfolio
Leveraging our global reach, multi-jurisdictional expertise, and deep experience across sport, government, and policy, we help clients confidently navigate and execute high-impact ventures that shape both their businesses and the future of sport.
Major Sports Events
2025 Rugby World Cups
PJE Legal helped Rugby Australia to secure its winning bid to host the 2027 and 2029 Rugby World Cups. We then structured an innovative joint venture with World Rugby and negotiated foundational agreements with the Australian and five State Governments, securing the largest public funding commitment ever made for a single sporting event in Australia.
2025 British & Irish Lions Tour
PJE Legal advised on the international joint venture, government hosting agreements and venue hire arrangements to ensure seamless coordination for this major tour.
Global Competitions
PJE Legal is advising UK-based Pitch International on behalf of Qatar for the new Nations Cup, a global rugby competition featuring the world’s 12 best teams from Six Nations and SANZAAR. We also support Netball Australia on hosting arrangements for the Netball World Cup 2027.
Governing Bodies
PJE Legal’s extensive experience managing the boards and governance committees of major sports and private organizations reaches across multiple countries. This expertise is invaluable for helping our clients build, evolve, and manage their own governance structures and challenges.
Rugby Australia Ltd
Serving as General Counsel and Company Secretary of Rugby Australia Ltd, Patrick led a legal and governance team responsible for matters across Australia and globally. This included international broadcast rights, commercial partnerships, collective bargaining, high-profile employment litigation, disciplinary and anti-corruption issues, high performance agreements, crisis management, and complex dispute resolution.
Public Sector
Patrick has been engaged by the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC) since 2022, as an expert consultant on transnational capacity building and litigation skills development in the Asia region, working with judges and prosecutors across Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bangladesh.
Private Sector
PJE Legal is advising a leading Swedish software and AI-powered technology firm with operations in Australia, Vietnam, and the United States, providing strategic guidance across corporate and commercial matters.
As an associate in the New York and Washington, D.C. offices of White & Case LLP from 2005 to 2013, Patrick focused on intellectual property and antitrust litigation, with a particular emphasis on cross-border criminal investigations, white collar defence, and complex civil class actions.
He appeared before the U.S. Federal Court in California, the New York State Court of Appeals and the New York Supreme Court, advising on matters involving Toshiba, Aramco, Facebook, Carlyle Group, Crédit Agricole, and the Washington Redskins (now Commanders).
Board positions
Patrick brings strong governance credentials to his advisory work. He served as Company Secretary of Rugby Australia, supporting board operations and compliance within a national sporting organisation. He currently sits on the Board of the United Nations International School (UNIS) of Hanoi, contributing to strategic oversight of one of the leading schools in Asia’s fastest growing economy.
Patrick is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, combining formal governance training with hands-on leadership across sectors.