Overview

Partner Patrick Montoya is a lawyer with experience in complex and high-profile litigation. His career philosophy—his continued ambition— “Be the lawyer you want for yourself.”

Mr. Montoya remains committed to ardently defending his clients and protecting their rights while simultaneously prioritizing a one-on-one relationship with each person he represents. With over two decades of experience in practicing law, Mr. Montoya brings his skill and knowledge to Milberg’s team. Mr. Montoya’s expertise includes class action and commercial litigation, products liability, personal injury litigation, aviation law, construction law, and toxic torts.

In the world of academia, Mr. Montoya has taught at the University of Miami’s Paralegal Program, undergraduate business law, and was a legal research and writing instructor at the University of Miami School of Law. He is also a frequent lecturer for CLEs and authored a book on Florida Evidence and Procedure for ALM Publishing. Mr. Montoya also served as Co-Chair of the Davidson College Alumni Chapter representing the South Florida Region.

Mr. Montoya currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Miami-Dade Trial Lawyers. In the past, he served on the Board of Governors for the American Association for Justice, a Director of the Dade County Bar Association. He is a former President of the Inns of Courts Chapter, Dade County Chapter and has received multiple honors and awards.

He received the prestigious Honorable Ted Klein award from Miami-Dade’s chapter of the Florida Association of Woman Lawyers for his work in promoting and assisting women’s advancement in the law. He has been recognized as a “Top Up & Comer in South Florida” by South Florida Legal Guide (2009-2013), a Florida Rising Star by Super Lawyers (2010-2012), a Florida Super Lawyer (2013-2023), and one of the Top 40 Lawyers Under 40 by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (2009). 

Outside the courtroom, office, and lecture halls, Mr. Montoya is dedicated to his community. Formerly, he was a member of the Executive Committee for the National Conference of Community and Justice (NCCJ), Greater Miami Region. The Dade Community Foundation granted Mr. Montoya the “Donor Next Door” Award for his volunteer work with the NCCJ. Mr. Montoya was also host of the television program “NCCJ: Your Community and You.” In addition, he served on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida’s Ad Hoc Committee on Rules and Procedures. 

Being a trial lawyer is an extension of Mr. Montoya’s two passions: dance and football. Both require relentless practice, hard work, and dedication. Both are highly competitive and mandate excellent collaboration, demanding strong fundamentals. Finally, after all of the hard work and practice, dance and football showcase a polished, professional performance. Trial work is no different: train, work, adopt strong fundamentals, compete, and then, put on a show.

Following his undergraduate degree, Mr. Montoya received the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship and pursued his passion for dancing, spending a year studying and teaching Spanish and martial arts abroad in Brazil and Spain. Mr. Montoya then went on to complete his law degree at the University of Miami School of Law, graduating cum laude. While there, he was a member of the Inter-American Law Review and the University of Miami Moot Court Board.

As a special note, Mr. Montoya is conversant in Spanish and Portuguese, allowing him to communicate with a variety of clients in their native language.

Notable Cases

Patrick has reached numerous multi-million dollar verdicts, winning settlements that not only repaid the clients for the wrong they experienced but also initiated strong changes to laws to more efficiently protect society: 

• part of a team that obtained a $51.8 million verdict for an Ocala, Florida family involved in a catastrophic car accident 

• part of a team that obtained an $8 million verdict in a wrongful death case for two Chinese nationals that were killed when they were hit by a car 
• achieved multi-million dollar trial verdicts for the widow and family of a slain police officer (and in another case for a police officer who was seriously injured by a drunk driver) 
• handled a multitude of wrongful death cases stemming from helicopter crashes in the Dominican Republic, parasailing accidents in the Bahamas, and multiple electrocution cases, including the death of a six-year-old boy in his family’s pool
• reached a million-dollar trial verdict for a group of hospital-based pathologists who sought damages from HMO’s for not paying their professional fees (following the verdict, the Supreme Court of Florida upheld the decision, enacting positive change to Florida law)
• recovered millions for diverse clients, from a Peruvian towel manufacturer, to homeowners who had defective Chinese drywall in their homes, to business owners who were harmed by the BP Oil Spill, to condominium associations with faulty fire sprinkler systems 

Published Works

• Florida Evidence and Procedure, ALM Publishing 
• Federal Court Tips, Daily Business Review, Miami 
• 10 Tips Leading to Efficient and Effective E-discovery for the Small Law Firm, Florida Bar Journal 
• Personal Injury From A to Z, Damages: Part 2 [Pain, Suffering and Punitive Damages], National Business Institute, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 

Classes & Seminars

• Lecturer, Pain & Suffering, Exacerbation of Pre-Existing Injuries, Loss of Earning, and Life Care Plans, National Business Institute, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• Lecturer, The Auto Injury Trial, National Business Institute, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 
• Lecturer, “The Rules of Evidence: A Practical Toolkit, Handling Email, Social Media and Other ESI” 
• Presenter, Opening Argument, “SuperStars In Trial,” Dade County Bar Association 
• Lecturer, “Depo 101, Expert Witnesses,” Dade County Bar Association, Young Lawyers Section CLE 
• Moderator, “Knock-Out Closing Arguments,” View from the Bench CLE Seminar
• Panelist, “Winning Deposition Techniques,” View from the Bench CLE Seminar 
• Lecturer, “Ethical Considerations” 
• Lecturer, “Trucking Industry and the Law” 
• Presenter, “The New Ediscovery Rules,” 2012 FSBAA Summer Conference, St. Petersburg, FL 
• Presenter, “Through the Looking Glass: Handling Mass Tort through the BP Oil Spill Experience,” Broward County Bar Association
• Presenter, “What You Need to Know to Navigate Florida’s New E-discovery Rules,” Webinar 
• Presenter, “Attacking Opposing Expert Testimony,” National Business Institute 
• Presenter, “Evidence, Experts and Hearsay in the Courtroom,” National Business Institute 
• Presenter, “Facing and Navigating the risks of US ‘Taxation of Costs’ laws” at ACEDS 2012 Conference in Hollywood, FL 
• Presenter, “You Can’t Spell Sunshine without ‘ESI’: What you should expect under the new Florida e-discovery state rules” at ACEDS 2012 Conference in Hollywood, FL
• Presenter, “Evidence to the Trial Lawyers” Seminar for the Collier County Bar Association 
• Presenter, “E-Discovery for Paralegals: Effectively Preserving Evidence” webinar for the Institute for Paralegal Education 
• Presenter, “The Evolution of Multi-District Litigation” at the American Bar Association Seminar, “Environmental, Mass Torts and Products Liability Litigation Committees’ Joint CLE Seminar” in Hollywood, Florida 
• Presenter, “Cross-Examination of Expert Witnesses” at the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants conference 
• Presenter, The Harris Martin Chinese Drywall Conference at the Fountainbleau, featuring the following panel discussions: “The Case Against Taishan/Taihe,” “Knauf-Pilot Program for Repairs” and “Inex and Banner Proposed Class Action Settlements—Objections and Opt-Out Issues”
• Adjunct Professor, Legal Research and Writing Program, University of Miami School of Law 
• Lecturer, Litigating Catastrophically Injured Infant Cases, Association of Trial Lawyers of America 
• Adjunct Professor, Business Law, Carlos Albizu University, Miami, Florida 
• Adjunct Professor, University of Miami Paralegal Program, Core Course and Florida Procedures, Presented by the Florida Bar 
• Lecturer, Discovery Practice and Procedures in Tort Litigation, Basic Tort Litigation CLE o Lecturer, Products Liability and Medical Malpractice an Interactive Overview, Basic Tort Litigation CLE, Presented by the Florida Bar
• Lecturer, “Professional Component of Clinical Pathology Fees and Recent Battles With HMOs,” Association of Pathology Chairs 2007 Annual Meeting 
• Lecturer, “Florida Bar Advertising and Regulations,” Lorman Seminars 
• Lecturer, “Countdown to Trial: A Crash Course in Trial Preparation for Paralegals,” Institute for Paralegal Education 
• Lecturer, “Building and Litigating the Class Action Case,” National Business Institute 
• Lecturer, “Legal Drafting Tips for Paralegals: Pleadings, Motions and Briefs,” Institute for Paralegal Education
• Lecturer, “How Discovery Is Being Affected by Caselaw and Changes,” Institute for Paralegal Education 
• Lecturer, “Paralegal Litigation Skills: Managing Civil Discovery,” Institute for Paralegal Education 
• Lecturer, “Representing Your Client in Federal Court,” National Business Institute 
• Lecturer, “Document Management in the Trenches: How Paralegals Can Get (And Stay) Organized,” Institute for Paralegal Education