Patrick Reagin
Partner
Overview
Patrick Reagin is an attorney in the firm's Litigation and Dispute Resolution Section. Mr. Reagin focuses on complex business and commercial disputes, and he is a go-to lawyer in the firm for high-profile and significant exposure matters.
Mr. Reagin has particular experience representing purchasers and sellers in post-closing mergers and acquisitions (M&A) disputes and claims relating to earnouts, purchase price adjustments and for breaches of representations and warranties and indemnity, including litigating these issues in the courts of Delaware. He regularly publishes on matters involving directors and officers (D&O) liability, including updates on leading decisions from the Delaware Court of Chancery and other significant fora contributing to the development of D&O and securities law.
In his broader commercial practice, Mr. Reagin has handled numerous disputes on behalf of companies, their officers and directors in connection with business tort, fraud, contract, fiduciary duty, restrictive covenant, trade secret, unfair competition, Lanham Act, antitrust and civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) claims in courts around the country and in international arbitrations.
Mr. Reagin is client-service oriented, proactive and responsive. He looks for creative solutions to tough problems and aims to avoid a narrow courtroom-only approach to dispute resolution. He is based in Holland & Knight's Atlanta office.
In addition, Mr. Reagin has been recognized by his peers as One to Watch in Commercial Litigation since the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America guide. He previously served as a board member of the Atlanta Bar Association and is a past president of the Atlanta Council of Younger Lawyers.
Mr. Reagin's notable representative matters include:
- representing a private developer in a contested and politicized bond validation proceeding for the public financing component of a proposed $5 billion mixed-use project and leading to the successful validation of the bonds
- representing one of the country's largest municipal utilities in a multibillion-dollar contract dispute regarding the financing for the last active nuclear construction project in the United States
- representing a seller in a nine-figure claim for fraud and breaches of representations and warranties arising out of an asset purchase deal
- representing a major oil company in a portfolio of toxic exposure claims arising out of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the largest marine oil spill in history
Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Reagin practiced with a large firm in New Orleans, where he litigated maritime, commercial and environmental cases. Upon graduation from law school, he clerked for the Honorable Ivan L.R. Lemelle of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. He graduated first in his law school class and served as articles editor of the Loyola Law Review.
Representative Experience
- Obtained complete summary judgment dismissing former directors and officers from a suit alleging fraud and breaches of representations and warranties in connection with nine-figure acquisition of closely held business by the world's second-largest poultry processor
- Represented sellers of a regional tree care business to a private equity buyer in connection with earnout, representation and warranty, and fraud claims
- Represented a portfolio company in dispute with a third-party logistics (3PL) provider under a service-level agreement
- Represented a prospective seller of business in dispute over the termination of an asset purchase agreement with a buyer, leading to a successful resolution
- Advised an international engineering services company regarding potential liability issues under U.S. law relating to redemption of former employee shares as part of sale of business
- Represented a legal solutions provider in a restrictive covenant dispute relating to employment of an executive of alleged competitor, leading to a favorable resolution
- Obtained a summary judgment on liability in favor of a flooring products manufacturer in a contract dispute with former logistics company
- Represented buyers in an earnout dispute with the selling company's founder and former members arising out of the sale of a chemicals management software business leading to successful resolution
- Represented a former poultry rendering operation in antitrust litigation against major poultry producer
- Represented incumbent directors in proxy solicitation and fiduciary duty dispute relating to control of board of publicly traded bank holding corporation
- Represented a global hotel operator in contract dispute with owner relating to a long-term hotel management agreement
- Represented a global hotel operator in contract dispute with a payroll processing provider
- Represented a seller in representation and warranty and indemnity dispute arising out of asset purchase and stock rollover agreement related to acquisition by a private equity buyer of applied behavioral analysis centers
- First-chaired a multiday international arbitration before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) prosecuting claims for fraud and breaches of representations and warranties on behalf of a foreign textiles conglomerate against the seller of a U.S.-based denim manufacturing company in stock purchase deal
- Represented a benefits administration company and its principals in prosecuting claims for breach of fiduciary duty against a former employee
- Represented multiple defendants in litigation asserting claims for breach of restrictive covenants, tortious interference and unfair trade practices arising out of a business divorce in the commercial cleaning industry
- Secured dismissal on personal jurisdiction grounds of a claim for breach of contract brought by a U.S. company against a Dutch affiliate of an international flooring products manufacturer
- Secured a permanent injunction in favor of a national alarm monitoring services provider to prohibit unfair competition and Lanham Act violations by a former sales representative
- Represented a financial technology (FinTech) company in connection with potential dispute with exclusive vendor following acquisition of competitor by parent, ultimately developing transactional proposal to isolate contract risk
- Represented a national waste management company before local contract administrators in connection with performance disputes with municipalities
- Counseled a municipal electric utility on litigation risks associated with proposed multibillion-dollar privatization transaction
- Successfully briefed and argued against dismissal of claim by homeowner against insurance carrier in state district court, ultimately securing favorable settlement
- Successfully recovered on open account claim brought by maritime technology company against marine terminal owner/operator
- Represented multiple Louisiana homeowners in construction defect claims against home elevation company and insurers relating to state/federal hazard mitigation grant program
- Represented a European flooring products manufacturer in a maritime contract dispute with a non-vessel operating common carrier/freight forwarder
- Represented a foreign products supplier in connection with a response to a third-party subpoena in connection with underlying maritime litigation
- Assisted team that secured significant trial verdict in maritime allision case involving offshore oil and gas platform
- Represented vessel interests in Jones Act personal injury claim by seaman
- Represented an offshore services contractor in personal injury claim brought by platform worker
- Represented the seller of a cosmetics business in connection with a claim for alleged California Proposition 65 violations, resulting in favorable resolution
- Represented a responder in Oil Pollution Act (OPA) litigation relating to oil discharge in connection with the salvage operations for the capsized Golden Ray vessel in coastal Georgia
- Represented Georgia premises owner in alleged asbestos exposure claim brought by former contractor through Daubert and dispositive motion phase, ultimately leading to favorable settlement on behalf of client
- Successfully opposed remand to state court of asbestos exposure claims against historical premises defendant and employer relying on federal Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) jurisdiction
- Obtained dismissal of fraud claims against historical premises defendant in federal asbestos exposure case
- Successfully excluded testimony of plaintiff's treating physicians regarding diagnosis and causation in federal asbestos exposure case
- Secured summary judgment dismissal of some of the first toxic exposure claims brought by former response workers against major oil company related to oil spill cleanup off the coast of Louisiana for failure to prove medical causation
- Represented major oil company and chemical refinery in Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund) cost-recovery and related environmental claims
Credentials
- Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, J.D., summa cum laude
- Loyola University New Orleans, B.S., Music Industry Studies
- Georgia
- Louisiana
- All State Courts in Georgia
- All Superior Courts in Georgia
- All State Courts in Louisiana
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
- Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), Atlanta Chapter
- Atlanta Bar Association, Atlanta Council of Younger Lawyers (ACYL), Vice President, 2022-2023; President, 2023
- State Bar of Georgia, Young Lawyers Division
- Piedmont Park Conservancy
- Louisiana State Bar Association
- Federal Bar Association, Admiralitas Editorial Committee
- New Orleans Bar Association, Young Lawyers Section, Ambassador, 2017-2018
- New Orleans Bar Association, Bench Bar Committee, 2017
- Louisiana State Bar Association, Suit Up for the Future Program, 2015-2018
- Thomas More Inn of Court, Associate Member, 2015-2018
- The Best Lawyers in America guide, Atlanta Commercial Litigation Ones to Watch, 2023-2025
- Rising Star, Georgia Super Lawyers magazine, 2023, 2024
- Holland & Knight Pro Bono All-Star, 2020
- Faculty Award for Student Graduating with Highest GPA, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, 2014
- Highest Grade Certificates in 12 Courses, including: Torts I, Torts II, Contracts II, The Legal Profession, Comparative Law, Constitutional Law, Constitutional Criminal Procedure, International Dispute Resolution, Securities Regulation, Business Organizations II, Trusts and Estates, Civil Law Property I, and Civil Law Property II
- Loyola Law Review, Moot Court