Lea Patterson serves as Counsel with First Liberty Institute. Before joining First Liberty, Patterson worked in St. Louis, Missouri as a law clerk to the Honorable Raymond W. Gruender of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Patterson received her law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2016, where she served as an executive editor for the Virginia Law Review and as president of the UVA chapter of Advocates for Life, a national association of law students dedicated to protecting human life. During law school, Patterson interned in the Texas Solicitor General’s Office and Senator Ted Cruz’s Judiciary Committee office. Patterson received her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Texas Christian University in 2013, graduating summa cum laude. A native of North Texas, Patterson is a member of the Texas State Bar.