NEW YORK — Scott+Scott’s San Diego-based Of Counsel Patrick Coughlin has been recognized by the National Law Journal – Elite Trial Lawyers 2025 with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
“Pat is a one-of-a-kind legal heavyweight who has brought countless legendary court battles to a successful resolution. I’ve known and worked with Pat for 25 years and consider him one of the best lawyers I’ve ever met,” Managing Partner David Scott said.
Mr. Coughlin started his law career with the DOJ Criminal Division Appellate Section in the Honors Program handling numerous appeals in several circuits. From there, he moved on as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia and in the Southern District of California, handling complex white-collar fraud matters. During this time, he helped try one of the largest criminal RICO cases ever prosecuted by the United States, United States v. Brown, No. 86-3056-SWR (D.D.C.), as well as an infamous oil fraud scheme resulting in a complex murder-for-hire trial, United States v. Boeckman, No. 87-cr-00676 (S.D. Cal.).
Recently, Mr. Coughlin led a team of Scott+Scott attorneys that secured a landmark trial verdict of $39 million against Assured Rx and several of its business acquaintances – a long-running case filed under the False Claims Act before the Superior Court of Connecticut. (State of Connecticut v. Assured Rx LLC et al., No. HHD-CV18-6101282-S (Connecticut Superior Court, Hartford District)).
Over his career, Mr. Coughlin has tried more than 50 cases, including some of the most complex civil matters to go to trial against some of the largest companies in the world such as: Apple, Nationwide, the large tobacco companies, Wells Fargo, and Credit Suisse. He was pivotal in the case against RJ Reynolds for using its Joe Camel cartoon mascot to target children and secured a multibillion-dollar payout for California cities and counties in the State’s landmark 1998 settlement with the tobacco companies.
Read more about some of Mr. Coughlin’s career milestones and this prestigious recognition in an interview published July 14, 2025 in the National Law Journal.