Deval Patrick
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Deval Patrick is currently the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Prior to Barack Obama's successful 2008 presidential bid, Patrick was mentioned by political commentators as a possible United States Supreme Court nominee for the would-be administration.
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Legal education and experience
Patrick attended Harvard University, receiving his bachelor's degree in 1978. He spent his post-graduate year working on a United Nations youth training project in Darfur. In 1979, Patrick returned to Cambridge, this time to study at Harvard Law School.[1]
After graduation in 1982, Patrick clerked for a Federal Appeals Judge in the First Circuit Court of Appeals based in Boston[2].
NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Patrick Sues Bill Clinton in Voting Rights Case
In 1983, Patrick joined the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund as an attorney specializing in death penalty and voting rights cases. While there, Patrick sued then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton over a voting rights case. Clinton worked with Patrick and the two began a relationship of strong mutual respect and admiration that continues today.[1].
Private Practice
In 1986, he joined the Boston law firm of Hill & Barlow and was named partner in 1990.[1].
Assistant Attorney General-Top Civil Rights Prosecutor
In 1994, President Bill Clinton appointed Patrick Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, making him the nation's top civil rights law enforcement official. While as an assistant attorney general, Patrick prosecuted hate crimes and serious civil rights violations. He has additionally worked on a wide range of issues, including prosecution of abortion clinic violence, employment discrimination, and enforcement of fair lending laws.
During the 1990s, he coordinated efforts with state and local authorities to prosecute individuals responsible for burning black churches.[1]
Texaco Diversity Task Force
Patrick returned to private practice in 1997 with the Boston firm of Day, Berry & Howard. That same year, he was appointed by a federal district court to serve as the first chairperson of Texaco's Equality and Fairness Task Force. This task force came as Texaco was rebuilding its image from a class-action lawsuit in which the company was accused of using racial slurs at corporate meetings and not promoting colored employees at the same rate of Caucasian employees.[3] Along with the task force, Patrick examined and reformed Texaco’s complex corporate employment culture, helping to create a model for fostering an "equitable workplace". In 1999, the company hired him to serve as Vice President and General Counsel, leading the company’s global legal affairs.[1]
Other Corporate Legal Involvement
In 2001, Patrick joined The Coca-Cola Company as Executive Vice President and General Counsel. He was elected to the additional role of Corporate Secretary in 2002, and served as part of the company’s senior leadership team as a member of the Executive Committee.
Governor Patrick has served on numerous charitable and corporate boards, as well as the Federal Election Reform Commission under Presidents Carter and Ford, and as Vice Chair of the Massachusetts Judicial Nominating Council by appointment of former Governor Weld.[1]
Possible Supreme Court Nominee
During the Summer of 2008, news sources speculated that Patrick was a potential Supreme Court nominee.[4]
