Pat has spent four decades serving the people of Northern Indiana as teacher, attorney, and civic leader. Passionate about this community, she has dedicated herself to its growth and development both professionally and personally. Pat worked in the law firms of Barnes and Thornburg and Baker and Daniels, and served as in-house counsel for Holy Cross Health System/Trinity Health Corporation. Pat opened Hackett & Associates in 2006, where she has deepened her career-long involvement in estate planning, family law, health care law, and advocacy as a trial attorney. As a small business owner, she has a hands-on appreciation for and commitment to family businesses in our District. As a current adjunct professor in the Notre Dame Law School, former adjunct faculty at St. Mary’s College, and former teacher at Marian High School, she has contributed to the life of the community through her teaching. Pat is wholly dedicated to the development of the community through education.

Pat is an active civic leader, having served on several boards, including the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County, YWCA of St. Joseph County, and as a past President of Alzheimer’s Services of Northern Indiana and the Michiana Estate Planning Council. Her service to the community also includes appointment to the Indiana Supreme Court Committee on Character and Fitness, past service as President of the Robert A. Grant Inn of Court, as well as service on the Indiana Advisory Board of the National Immigrant Justice Center, the Ethics Committee of Memorial Hospital of South Bend and the St. Joseph County Joint Health Care Ethics Advisory Committee. Her depth of understanding and experience regarding ethics and justice is grounded in her work in the fields of theology, government, and law. Pat earned a B.A. in Government and Theology, an M.A. in Theology, and a J.D. from the University of Notre Dame. Additionally, she engaged in Ph.D. studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. As early as law school, Pat distinguished herself as an advocate and was awarded the International Academy of Trial Lawyers Award.

Pat makes her home with her spouse, Rita, in South Bend, Indiana.