John Patterson ’75 was named president of the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association (ATLA) for the 2007-2008 fiscal year. He is the first sitting president to be elected to a second term in the 44-year history of the organization. Patterson was handed the symbolic gavel from past president John Belew ’68 during the awards luncheon at the organization’s annual convention.
Patterson is currently the president of Ring 308 of the International Brotherhood of Magicians where he performs a free annual Holiday of Lights magic show for White County residents. In his acceptance speech, he used the ATLA president’s gavel as a magic wand to levitate a glass of water as he spoke of the magic of ATLA before toasting the members.
Patterson has many years of experience as a leader of the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association. He has served on the board of governors since 2000 and has been a member of the executive committee since 2004, serving as secretary-treasurer and then vice president in 2005.
Patterson is also a member of the American Association for Justice, the Arkansas Bar Association, and is a past president of the White County Bar Association. Patterson has led numerous legal education seminars around the state instructing other lawyers on how to represent injured clients.
A former Arkansas State Golf Champion, Patterson was elected to the Sports Hall of Honor at Hendrix College in 2002. He is married to Cara Walker Patterson '77 and has two daughters, Anna Patterson Strong '04, an analyst with Acxiom Corporation in Conway, and Amy W. Patterson, the director of weekday child ministries at St. James United Methodist Church in Little Rock. His son-in-law, Aaron C. Strong ’03, is a third-year medical student at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences