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Patrick Borchers Photo

Patrick Borchers

Of Counsel

Resume

Licensed in Nebraska, New York and California (currently inactive in California)

  • Profile
  • Practice Areas
  • Credentials
  • Associations
  • Notable Work
  • Community Involvement
  • Location Information

The Problem-Solving Professor

Omaha Of Counsel Attorney

Patrick Borchers serves in an of counsel role for Goosmann Law Firm. He is currently a law professor for Creighton University where he also served as the eighth Dean of Creighton Law School from 1999 to 2007 and then as Creighton’s Vice-President for Academic Affairs from 2007 to 2013.

Patrick is an internationally recognized scholar in private international law, federal courts law, and international arbitration. His work with Goosman Law Firm focuses on federal courts, complex civil litigation, and alternative dispute resolution.

He is an elected member of the American Law Institute and the International Academy of Comparative Law. Notably, Patrick was the Principal Investigator on a study funded by the United States Agency for International Development to study resolution of claims between Cuba and the United States.

Patrick received his Juris Doctor from University of California, Davis where he was in the top two percent of his class. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in physics from the University of Notre Dame.

LICENSED IN: Nebraska, New York and California (currently inactive in California)

Patrick’s “Why”

With my over 35 years of experience of practicing law, teaching law, and consulting I enjoy helping clients solve complex problems. I have been recognized by foreign courts many times as an expert in private international law, and handled or consulted on many complex cases throughout my career.

Bar Admissions

  • State: Nebraska, New York and California (currently inactive in California)
Education
  • University of California, Davis, 1986 J.D.
    • Class Rank: Top 2%
    • Managing Editor, U.C. DAVIS LAW REVIEW
    • Order of the Coif 
  • University of Notre Dame, 1983, B.S. (Physics)
    • Cum Laude
    • Notre Dame Rhodes Scholar Nominee
Previous Employment

Creighton University School of Law, Omaha, NE

Professor of Law (Lillis Family Distinguished Professor) and Adjunct Professor of Philosophy, 2015-present

  • Courses: Civil Procedure, Conflict of Laws, Federal Courts and International Arbitration

Werner Institute for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution, Professor of Law and Adjunct Professor of Philosophy, 2013-15

  • Law Courses: Civil Procedure, Federal Courts, Conflict of Laws Dispute Resolution Course: International Arbitration

Vice President for Academic Affairs, Professor of Law and Adjunct Professor of Philosophy, 2007-2013

  • Law Courses: Federal Courts, Conflict of Laws Philosophy Course: Philosophy of Law

Dean and Professor, 1999-2007

  • Courses: Civil Procedure, Conflict of Laws

Albany Law School of Union University, Albany, NY

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, 1996-1999

Associate Dean for Student Affairs, 1993-1996

Assistant Professor of Law, 1990-93

Associate Professor of Law, 1993-95

Professor 1995-99

  • Courses: Conflict of Laws, Administrative Law, Civil Procedure, Complex Federal Litigation, New York Administrative Law and Policy, Transnational Litigation, Int’l Commercial Arbitration

Hague (the Netherlands) Conference on Private International Law

Secrétaire rédacteur, Conférence de La Haye de Droit International Privé, June 1996

Downey, Brand, Seymour & Rohwer,Sacramento, California

Litigation Associate, 1987-90

Hon. Anthony M. Kennedy, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Sacramento, California

Law Clerk, 1986-87

Downey, Brand, Seymour & Rohwer, Sacramento, California

Summer Associate, 1986

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, Los Angeles, California

Summer Associate, 1985

University of California, Davis School of Law, Davis, California

Research Assistant for Professor Edward H. Rabin, Summer 1984

Memberships
  • Bar Admissions and related: Nebraska, New York and California (inactive status since 1994) and some affiliated federal courts; Omaha Bar Association Executive Council (2001-2004); District of Nebraska Federal Practice Advisory Committee (2001-04); Nebraska Continuing Legal Education, Inc., Board member (1999-2001); American Inns of Court, Omaha Chapter (1999- present)
  • Other: Co-Director, Albany-Tulane Summer School at McGill University (1997-99); AALS Sections on Conflicts (Executive Committee 1993-94, 1998-2000; Chair 1997, 2015); Federal Courts (Executive Committee 1991-92); Board of Editors, American Journal of Comparative Law; Board of Directors, American Society of Comparative Law (1992-1999)

Achievements

  • Chair, Association of American Law Schools, Conflict of Laws Section (2015, 1997)
  • Distinguished Administrator Service Award, Creighton University (2013)
  • Recognized (with Judy Borchers and Mary Meyer) for Excellence in High School Mock Trial Coaching, Nebraska Bar Foundation (2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014)
Publications
  • test

Books

  • HAY, BORCHERS, SYMEONIDES & WHYTOCK, CONFLICT OF LAWS (6 th ed. (West 2018); 5 th ed. (West 2010); 4th ed. (West 2004), 3rd ed. (West 2000) and supplements; 1995 supplement to 2nd ed.; editions prior to 5th with SCOLES)
  • JURISDICTION AND PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW (BORCHERS ed., Elgar 2014) (two volumes)
  • HAY, WEINTRAUB & BORCHERS, CONFLICT OF LAWS: CASES AND MATERIALS (14 th ed. 2013 Foundation and supplements; 13th ed. 2009 Foundation and supplements; 12th ed. Foundation 2004 and supplements; 11th ed. Foundation 2000 and supplements; 1997-99 supplements to 10th ed.)
  • Comparative Conventions, Regulations and Codes (Foundation Press 2009) (co-ed. with HAY and WEINTRAUB)
  • BORCHERS, CONFLICTS IN A NUTSHELL (4 th ed. West 2015; 3rd ed. 2005 with SIEGEL) BORCHERS, KELLY, MORENO, WITMER, WUNSCH & PEARLSTEIN, REPORT ON THE RESOLUTION OF OUTSTANDING PROPERTY CLAIMS BETWEEN THE U.S. AND CUBA (Creighton Univ. Press 2007) (Executive Summary Reprinted at 41 CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW 207 (2008))
  • INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT OF LAWS FOR THE THIRD MILLENNIUM: ESSAYS IN HONOR OF FRIEDRICH K. JUENGER (Transnational Publishers 2001) (co-ed. with JOACHIM ZEKOLL)
  • BORCHERS & MARKELL, NEW YORK STATE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE AND PRACTICE (2d ed. West 1998; 1999-2002 supplements; 1st ed. West 1995)

Book Chapters

  • Introduction, JURISDICTION AND PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW (BORCHERS ed., Edward Elgar 2014) (two volumes)
  • Flexibility and Predictability: The Emergence of Near-Universal Choice of Law Principles, in BALANCING OF INTERESTS: LIBER AMICORUM PETER HAY (RASMUSSEN-BONNE, FREER & WEITNAUER eds. 2005).
  • Losing the Battle, Winning the War: Juenger’s Critique of Interest Analysis, in CHOICE OF LAW AND MULTISTATE JUSTICE (FRIEDRICH K. JUENGER, Spec. ed. 2005).
  • Interstate Recognition of Non-Traditional Marriages in SAME-SEX MARRIAGE AND SAME-SEX UNIONS: A DEBATE (WARDLE, STRASSER, DUNCAN & COOLIDGE eds. 2003)
  • Jurisdiction to Adjudicate Revisited in LAW AND JUSTICE IN A MULTISTATE WORLD: ESSAYS IN HONOR OF ARTHUR VON MEHREN (SYMEONIDES & NAFZIGER ed. 2002)
  • Introduction to Administrative Law in NEW YORK STATE MANUAL FOR ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES AND HEARING OFFICERS (2002)
  • A Look Forward, A Look Back: Juenger’s First Major Conflicts Article in INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT OF LAWS FOR THE THIRD MILLENNIUM: ESSAYS IN HONOR OF FRIEDRICH K. JUENGER (2001)
  • Administrative Law in GENERAL PRACTICE IN NEW YORK (OSTERTAG & BENSON ed. 1998) (with David Markell)
  • The Triumph of Substance over Rules of Choice in International Commercial Transactions: From the Lex Mercatoria to Modern Standards in INTRODUCTION TO TRANSNATIONAL LEGAL TRANSACTIONS (RAISCH ed. 1995)

Law Review Publications

  • Extending Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(k)(2): A Way to (Partially) Clean up the Personal Jurisdiction Mess, 67 AMERICAN UNIVERITY LAW REVIEW 413 (2017)
  • How “International” Should a Third Conflicts Restatement be in Tort and Contract?, 27 DUKE JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL AND COMPARATIVE LAW 461 (2017)
  • Is the Supreme Court Really Going to Regulate Choice of Law Between States?, 50 CREIGHTON LAW REVIEW 7 (2016)
  • An Essay on Predictability in Choice-of-Law Doctrine and Implications for a Third Conflicts Restatement, 49 CREIGHTON LAW REVIEW 495 (2015)
  • The Twilight of the Minimum Contacts Test, 11 SETON HALL CIRCUIT REVIEW 1 (2014)
  • One Step Forward and Two Back: Missed Opportunities in Refining the U.S. Minimum Contacts Test and the E.U. Brussels I Regulation, 3 UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL AND COMPARATIVE LAW (2014)
  • Personal Jurisdiction over Foreign Companies: New Developments in US Law, 3 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PROCEDURE 5 (2013)
  • Conflict-of-Laws Considerations in State Law Human Rights Litigation, 3 U.C. IRVINE LAW REVIEW 43 (2013)
  • J. McIntyre, Goodyear and the Incoherence of the Minimum Contacts Test, 45 CREIGHTON LAW REVIEW 1245 (2011)
  • The Emergence of Quasi Rules in U.S. Conflicts Law, 12 YEARBOOK OF PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW (2010).
  • The Real Risks of Forum Shopping: A Dissent from Shady Grove, 44 CREIGHTON LAW REVIEW 29 (2010)
  • Punitive Damages, Forum Shopping and the Conflict of Laws, 70 LOUISIANA LAW REVIEW 529 (2010)
  • The Conflict of Laws and Boumediene v. Bush, 42 CREIGHTON LAW REVIEW 1 (2008)
  • The Coming Collision: Romer and State Defense of Marriage Acts, 2008 B.Y.U. LAW REVIEW 1635
  • Categorical Exceptions to Party Autonomy in Private International Law, 82 Tulane Law Review (2008)
  • Jones v. Flowers: An Essay on a Unified Theory of Procedural Due Process, 40 CREIGHTON LAW REVIEW 343 (2007)
  • Nebraska Choice of Law: A Synthesis, 39 CREIGHTON LAW REVIEW 1 (2005)
  • The Essential Irrelevance of the Full Faith and Credit Clause to the Same-Sex Marriage Debate, 38 CREIGHTON LAW REVIEW 353 (2005)
  • Internet Libel: The Consequences of a Non-Rule Approach to Jurisdiction, 98 NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW 473 (2004)
  • Tort and Contract Jurisdiction via the Internet: The “Minimum Contacts” Test and the Brussels Regulation Compared, 50 NETHERLANDS INTERNATIONAL LAW JOURNAL 401 (2003)
  • Budgets, 35 UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO LAW REVIEW 19 (2003)
  • The Incredible Shrinking Hague Evidence Convention, 38 TEXAS JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW 75 (2002)
  • The Problem with General Jurisdiction, 2001 UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO LAW FORUM 119
  • Ten Things They Don’t Teach You in Dean School, 31 UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO LAW REVIEW 567 (2000)
  • Louisiana’s Conflicts Codification: Some Empirical Observations Regarding Decisional Predictability, 60 LOUISIANA LAW REVIEW 1061 (2000)
  • Choice of Law in Federal Courts: A Reply, 8 BRANDEIS LAW JOURNAL 159 (2000)
  • Empiricism and Theory in Conflicts Law, 75 INDIANA LAW JOURNAL 509 (2000)
  • Annual Survey of New York Law: Conflict of Laws, 49 SYRACUSE LAW REVIEW 333 (1999)
  • Baker v. General Motors: Implications for Interjurisdictional Recognition of Non-Traditional Marriages, 32 CREIGHTON LAW REVIEW 147 (1998)
  • Judgments Conventions and Minimum Contacts, 61 ALBANY LAW REVIEW 1161 (1998)
  • A Few Little Issues for the Hague Judgments Negotiations, 24 BROOKLYN JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW 157 (1998)
  • Choice of Law Relative to Security Interests and Other Liens in International Bankruptcies, 46 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE LAW Supp. 165 (1998)(United States Report for the 15th Congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law)
  • Courts and the Second Conflicts Restatement: Some Observations and an Empirical Note, 56 MARYLAND LAW REVIEW 1232 (1997)
  • Back to the Past: Anti-Pragmatism in American Conflicts Law, 48 MERCER LAW REVIEW 721 (1997)
  • International Criminal Tribunals -- A Jurisprudential Thought, 60 ALBANY LAW REVIEW 653 (1997)
  • Pennoyer's Limited Legacy: A Reply to Professor Oakley, 29 U.C. DAVIS LAW REVIEW 115 (1995)
  • The Return of Territorialism To New York's Conflicts Law: Padula v. Lilarn Properties Corp., 58 ALBANY LAW REVIEW 775 (1995)
  • Conference on Jurisdiction, Justice, and Choice of Law for the Twenty-First Century, 29 NEW ENGLAND LAW REVIEW 517 (1995) (various contributions)
  • Jurisdictional Pragmatism: International Shoe's Half-Buried Legacy, 28 U.C. DAVIS LAW REVIEW 561 (1995)
  • The Internationalization of Contractual Conflicts Law, 28 VANDERBILT JOURNAL OF TRANSNATIONAL LAW 421 (1995)
  • Choice of Law in the American Courts in 1992: Observations and Reflections, 42 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE LAW 125 (1994)
  • The Origins of Diversity Jurisdiction, the Rise of Legal Positivism, and a Brave New World for Erie and Klaxon, 72 TEXAS LAW REVIEW 79 (1993), reprinted in part in CIVIL PROCEDURE ANTHOLOGY 220-33 (LEVINE, DOERNBERG & NELKEN ed.1998)
  • New York Choice of Law: Weaving the Tangled Strands, 57 ALBANY LAW REVIEW 93 (1993)
  • Conflicts Pragmatism, 56 ALBANY LAW REVIEW 883 (1993), reprinted in part in A CONFLICTOF-LAWS ANTHOLOGY 148-50 (SHREVE ed. 1997)
  • The Choice-of-Law Revolution: An Empirical Study, 49 WASHINGTON & LEE LAW REVIEW 357 (1992)
  • Comparing Personal Jurisdiction in the United States and the European Community: Lessons for American Reform, 40 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE LAW 121 (1992)
  • Forum Selection Agreements in the Federal Courts After Carnival Cruise: A Proposal for Congressional Reform, 67 WASHINGTON LAW REVIEW 55 (1992)
  • The Death of the Constitutional Law of Personal Jurisdiction: From Pennoyer to Burnham and Back Again, 24 U.C. DAVIS LAW REVIEW 19 (1990), reprinted in part in A CIVIL PROCEDURE ANTHOLOGY 69-80 (LEVINE, DOERNBERG & NELKEN ed. 1998)
  • California Local Initiatives and Referenda: An Argument for Keeping the Progressive Flame Burning, 21 PACIFIC LAW JOURNAL 119 (1989)
  • Taming the New Breed of Nuclear Free Zone Ordinances: Statutory and Constitutional Infirmities in Local Procurement Ordinances Blacklisting the Producers of Nuclear Weapons Components, 40 HASTINGS LAW JOURNAL 87 (1988), reprinted in, 25 YEARBOOK OF PROCUREMENT ARTICLES 771 (1988) (with Dauer)
Community Involvement
  • Commissioner (gubernatorial appointment), Nebraska Equal Opportunity Comm’n 2016-present
  • Elected Douglas County, SID Board 498 (2009-present)
  • Board Member, Skutt Catholic High School (2007-13)
  • Co-Chair, Mayor Fahey’s Task Force on Public Safety (2006-07)
  • Board Member, Catholic Charities of Omaha (2004-10)
  • Board Member, Notre Dame Club of Omaha (2002-06)
  • Leadership Omaha, Omaha Chamber of Commerce, Class 23 (2000-01)
  • Volunteer tutor in science and mathematics, Boys Town (2002-2014) and Omaha Street School (2000-01)
  • Town of Guilderland, NY, YMCA Task Force (1997)
  • Coach, Skutt Catholic High School Mock Trial (2003-present); Omaha Parochial Athletic League Volleyball (2002-2003) and Soccer (2005-09); Pine Bush Little League, Guilderland, NY (1991-97, 1999); St. Madeleine Sophie Catholic Church (Guilderland, NY), Intra-Parish Basketball League (1993-96)
  • Member, Advisory Council and Drafting Subcommittee, Youth Courts of the Capital District, Inc. (1993-94)
Locations