Personal Experience

Patrick J. McGroder III is a Founding Partner of Beus O’Connor McGroder PLLC, a premier boutique law firm concentrating on High Stakes Litigation and Plaintiffs Catastrophic Injury & Wrongful Death. Mr. McGroder leads the firm’s Plaintiffs Catastrophic Injury & Wrongful Death practice.

He has been lead counsel in over 1,000 Plaintiffs personal injury cases, nearly 300 of which have resulted in verdicts or settlements in excess of one billion dollars recovered for clients. For more than 50 years, Mr. McGroder has tried cases ranging from murder to malpractice. He was selected as one of the ten best lawyers in Arizona and is named yearly as one of the 500 Best Trial Lawyers in the United States by Lawdragon, one of the most prestigious legal publications in America. In 2019, Mr. McGroder was selected for the Law Dragon Hall of Fame.

Mr. McGroder has been a finalist for the American Trial Lawyer of the Year Award given annually by Lawyers for Public Justice for his nationwide work representing families of police officers who burned alive in crashes because of a defective fuel system on Ford police cars. Mr. McGroder has handled many high profile cases, including medical malpractice, product liability, and aviation disasters. He is a proud fellow and past President of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, a peer selected group of the 500 best trial lawyers in the United States.

Mr. McGroder was the recipient of the Kenneth P. Clancy Memorial Award by ABOTA for his unfailing commitment to the principles of professionalism, decency, and civility in the legal profession. He is one of the youngest members to be selected for the Maricopa County Bar Association Hall of Fame. His career highlights include the privilege of protecting and advocating the rights of injured victims for over forty-five years; lead co-counsel in Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptors fuel fed fire cases in Arizona and nationwide; lead counsel in police overtime class action litigation in Arizona; and representation of the families of fallen Granite Mountain Hot Shots. His representation of a Catholic Bishop charged with vehicular manslaughter was named the trial of the decade by the Arizona Republic.

Admissions

• U.S. District Court – District of Arizona
• Supreme Court of the State of Arizona

Education

• St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute Preparatory School
• University of Notre Dame – B.A.
• University of Arizona College of Law – J.D.

Representative Matters

• Representation of victims of Channel 3/15 mid-air helicopter crash over downtown Phoenix which resulted in four fatalities
• Representation of victims of Flagstaff Medical Center mid-air crash of two Air Evac helicopters which resulted in seven fatalities
• Representation of victims of the Superstition Mountain aviation crash
• Representation of victims of the Telluride bus crash
• Representation of the Granite Mountain Hot Shot families whose loved ones tragically perished during the 2013 Yarnell wildfire resulting in compensation for their families and prompting new safety procedures for battling fires
• Representation in landmark cases against Ford Motor Company involving police interceptor vehicles which burst into flames upon rear impact during car crashes
• Representation of victims of the Route 91 Las Vegas Shooting cases
• Representation of Bishop O’Brien which was named the “trial of the decade” by the Arizona Republic

Professional Distinctions

• Arizona State Bar Foundation Walter E. Craig Distinguished Service Award for service to the community
• Best Lawyers of America Plaintiff Lawyer of the Year in Arizona 2009, 2015, and 2019
• Arizona Association of Defense Counsel 2017 Distinguished Service Award for Plaintiffs Counsel for Lifetime Achievement
• Inducted into the Maricopa County Bar Association Hall of Fame
• Selected by Law Dragon as one of the 500 Best Lawyers in the United States (since 2007) and chosen for the Law Dragon National Hall of Fame (2019)
• Selected as one of the 100 Best Trial Lawyers in America
• Voted as “One of Arizona’s Top Ten Lawyers” by Arizona Business Journal
• Selected as “One of the Top 50 Southwest Super Lawyers” 2007-2020
• Appears yearly in Woodward/White “Best Lawyers in America”
• Martindale Hubbell – Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers in America
• Finalist-Trial Lawyers for Public Justice “Trial Lawyer of the Year”
• ABOTA’s Recipient of the Kenneth P. Clancy Professionalism Award
• State Bar of Arizona Recipient of the “President’s Award”
• Honorary Bencher of the Honorable Society of King’s Inns Dublin, Ireland

Memberships & Activities

• Commercial Litigation, 1997 – 2024
• Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs, 1997 – 2024
• Fellow of The International Academy of Trial Lawyers, Past President, Board of Directors, & Chair of the Ireland Program
• Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers Arizona State Committee
• Fellow of the International Society of Barristers
• Member of the American Board of Trial Advocates
• Member of the American Association for Justice
• Sustaining Member, M Club, Advocate, Stalwart
• Member of the Arizona Trial Lawyers Association, Life Member, Board of Directors
• State Bar of Arizona
• Maricopa County Bar Association

Community & Philanthropy

• Former Board of Directors, Human Service Campus
• Founder and Former Member of the Board of Directors, Actors Theater of Phoenix
• St. Mary’s Food Bank, Esperanca, Inc.
• St. Vincent de Paul Volunteer
• Social Ventures Partners Arizona
• St. Thomas School Girls’ Basketball Coach, 7th & 8th Grades
• Xavier College Preparatory, Development Board – Major Donor Gift Giving Chair, Mock Trial Instructor, Chairman, Xavier Dads’ Club Golf Tournament, Board of Trustees
• Member of the Board of the Barrow Foundation
• Brophy College Preparatory, Mock Trial Instructor/Coach
• Former Honorary Chairman, Martin Luther King, Jr. Golf Tournament
• Volunteer legal services to indigents, St. Martin de Porres Church, and St. Thomas Moore Society
• Former President of Coyotes Youth Hockey Association
• Former President, Arizona Scared Straight Program
• Former Member, Board of Directors, Valley Big Brothers
• Former President, Colony Biltmore Homeowners’ Association
• Former President, Casa Amertas Homeowners’ Association
• Creighton University-Parents’ Council 2005-2007
• College of the Holy Cross–Parents’ Council Community Awards
• Exceptional Service to Fatherless Boys Award, Valley Big Brothers
• Distinguished Service Award, Arizona State Fraternal Order of Police

Other

• Public Appointments
• Member, Maricopa County Commission on Trial Court Appointments
• Board Member-Critical Incident Review Board for Arizona Department of Public Safety
• Arizona State Boxing Commission, Member 1998 – 2003; Chairman, 2000 – 2001
• Educational Appointments
• Xavier College Preparatory, Board of Trustees, Chair of Development Committee
• University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, Board of Visitors 2000-Present, Dean’s Council 2003- Present
• Arizona State University College of Law Council of 100
• Phoenix School of Law, Board of Advisors 2004-2010, Chairman of the Board of Advisors 2006-2010