Judge Patricia J. Kerrigan was appointed by Governor Rick Perry in 2007 as Judge of the 190th Civil District Court of Harris County. In 2008, she won the right to complete the full term on the 190th District Court, where she was appointed to serve. Before taking the Bench, she had an active trial practice for 24 years primarily defending products liability, medical, general tort and commercial cases. She also handled select appellate work in State and Federal Courts of Appeals and was an arbitrator with the National Arbitration Forum.Judge Kerrigan received her BSN from Boston University and, after working as a nurse for several years, received her J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center, where she was Chief Justice of the Advocates and received the Law School's Distinguished Service Award. Upon graduation, Judge Kerrigan joined the law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski, where she became a partner in 1992. In 1997, she resigned to form Werner, Kerrigan & Ayers.
Judge Kerrigan is honored to be a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law. She has been voted as a Texas Super Lawyer since this award originated in 2003. She was the first woman to serve as President of The Texas Association of Defense Counsel and of The Association of Defense Trial Attorneys. She has served on numerous State Bar committees, including as Chair of a Pattern Jury Charge Committee. She is a past Board member and officer of the DRI and a frequent speaker at CLE programs.
Judge Kerrigan is active in the community serving many organizations like the Women's Initiative of the United Way and the Development Board of University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (1998 - 2005). Judge Kerrigan attends St. Michael's Catholic Church.
Judge Kerrigan became interested in Republican politics while she was a volunteer for Ret. Chief Justice Tom Phillips' first campaign for a seat on the Texas Supreme Court. Since that time, she has been involved in numerous judicial campaigns.
Judge Kerrigan is married to Philip Werner. Their sons are Austin Werner, who is employed as a banker in Houston, and Sgt. Stuart Werner, awaiting orders with the Texas National Guard having recently completed service in the US Army with the Old Guard at Arlington National Cemetery.