Biography
Prepared for Trial
Career
Patty Hewes chairs the firm's Wildfire Litigation practice. She joined Holdsworth & Inkwell as a partner in 2018 after twenty-five years in New York where she founded and led a prominent plaintiffs' firm that specialized in mass tort and class action work.
Wildfire Practice
She moved her practice to California specifically to build the firm's Wildfire Litigation capability following the 2017–2018 California fire seasons. Her practice now spans inverse condemnation claims against utilities, subrogation work for insurance carriers, individual recovery matters for homeowners and small businesses, and mass tort coordination. She has recovered over $340 million for clients across wildfire-related matters in the past four years.
Trial Record
She is widely regarded as one of the country's leading plaintiffs' counsel in catastrophic loss litigation. She has tried sixteen matters to verdict, including three jury trials in the past three years.
Credentials
The Record, Stated Plainly
What follows is Patty Hewes's professional record: admissions, honors, and affiliations, each entered as fact rather than argument. We state what is verifiable and let it stand. For the firm's full standards across offices and practices, see Credentials.
Bar Admissions
Court Admissions
Education
- B.A., Government, Smith College, 1986
- J.D., Columbia Law School, 1989
Attorneys are licensed only in the jurisdictions listed in their individual credentials. Admission to practice varies by attorney and by court; nothing on this page implies licensure in any jurisdiction not expressly stated.
Recognition
- Trial Bench Review | Trial Star, Insurance & Wildfire, 2024
- Top Lawyers in America | Wildfire Litigation, 2025
- Top Lawyers | "Lawyer of the Year," Wildfire Litigation, 2025
- The Bar Compendium 500 | Leading Plaintiff & Mass-Tort Litigators, 2023
Practice Areas
Depth in Practice
The areas below make up Patty Hewes's practice. Each one receives the same depth of preparation, whether her focus is a single concentration or several.
Practice Area
Commercial Litigation
Trial-tested representation for businesses navigating contract disputes, business torts, and competitive harm.
Practice Area
Wildfire Litigation
Recovery for property owners, businesses, and insurance carriers in wildfire matters involving utility negligence and federal lands.
Sectors
Industry Experience
A lawyer's grasp of an industry develops the same way legal skill does: through repeated work inside it. The sectors below reflect where Patty Hewes has actually worked, not a general list of industries the firm covers. Some attorneys concentrate in one industry; others move across several, depending on the matters they take on.
Experience
A Record Built One Matter at a time
The matters below are ones Patty Hewes has actually carried, from the routine filing to the trial that reached a jury, each handled with the same preparation regardless of size or visibility. They document work already done, not a forecast for any new matter; every case is decided on its own facts.
Resolved Subrogation Claims in Northern California Wildfire MDL
settlement2026CaliforniaResolved Washington Wildfire Subrogation Under Pure Comparative Framework
settlement2025WashingtonCoordinated Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Recovery Under FEMA Framework
regulatory-approval2025New MexicoResolved Wildfire Subrogation Claims in Multi-Carrier Dispute
settlement2025ColoradoDefended Utility Against Arizona Wildfire Liability Claims
settlement2025Arizona
Resources
From Patty Hewes
Patty Hewes has spent her career in catastrophic loss litigation, work that puts her in the same room as utilities, carriers, and the property owners caught between them. Any writing of hers on these matters appears below, to read directly rather than through someone else's account of it.
white-paper
The End of California's Inverse Condemnation Era? Defending Utilities Through the SB 254 Reform Window
California's strict-liability inverse condemnation doctrine is under legislative scrutiny after the SB 254 reports. How utility defendants should position cases during the reform window.
article
Utility Wildfire Subrogation in the Western United States: Multi-State Defense Frameworks
Survey of utility wildfire subrogation defense frameworks across California, Colorado, Arizona, and Washington, with common operational themes and state-specific architectural variations.
article
Federal Wildfire Compensation Frameworks: The Cerro Grande to Hermit's Peak Lineage
Federal wildfire compensation legislation from the Cerro Grande Act of 2000 to the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon Act of 2022, with FEMA administration and implications for future federal frameworks.
Books
Published Work
Where Patty Hewes has authored or co-authored a book, it is listed here.
Announcements
News & Activity
What follows connects to Patty Hewes's work at the firm, drawn from her involvement across matters and public activity alike. Each item is its own record, linked through for the full account.
Patty Hewes Named to 2025 Top Lawyers in America® for Wildfire Litigation
Patty Hewes, Chair of the Wildfire Litigation Practice at Holdsworth & Inkwell, has been named to the 2025 edition of The Top Lawyers in America® for Wildfire Litigation, recognizing her multi-state wildfire defense practice.
Upcoming CLE: Wildfire Litigation Defense Update 2026
Patty Hewes and Howard Hamlin will present a CLE program on utility wildfire defense developments across the Western United States and the federal compensation framework for federally caused wildfires.
Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act FY2026 Funding Updates
The Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Claims Office continues to administer compensation claims under FY2026 Congressional appropriations. Update on funding status, claims processing activity, and operational implications.
Pro Bono Wildfire Recovery Initiative Reaches 100th Family Served
The firm's Pro Bono Wildfire Recovery Initiative has served its 100th family, marking eight months of legal assistance to individual claimants navigating the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon administrative claims process.
Holdsworth & Inkwell Recognized in 2024 Meridian Legal Register Rankings
The firm has been recognized in the 2024 Meridian Legal Register rankings across multiple practice areas and states, with individual rankings for attorneys in commercial litigation, false claims act, and wildfire litigation.
Firm Formally Launches Wildfire Litigation Practice with Patty Hewes as Chair
Holdsworth & Inkwell has formally launched its Wildfire Litigation Practice, consolidating the firm's multi-state wildfire defense and federal compensation work into a dedicated practice group. Patty Hewes will serve as the inaugural Chair of the new practice.
Foundation Funding Received
Placeholder announcement to test the foundation news. Funding received!
Holdsworth & Inkwell Secures Multi-County Defense Win in California Wildfire Subrogation
The firm secured a favorable resolution in coordinated multi-county California wildfire subrogation proceedings, defending a utility client against consolidated insurance carrier claims under the state's inverse condemnation and comparative fault frameworks.
Holdsworth & Inkwell Launches Pro Bono Wildfire Recovery Initiative
The firm has launched a Pro Bono Wildfire Recovery Initiative to provide legal assistance to individual claimants navigating the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act and similar federal compensation frameworks.
Holdsworth & Inkwell Presents at 2024 ABA TIPS Annual Conference
Harvey Specter and Patty Hewes presented at the 2024 ABA Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section Annual Conference on multi-state defense frameworks across the firm's commercial litigation practice.
Patty Hewes Presents at 2024 Western States Wildfire Litigation Conference
Patty Hewes, Chair of the Wildfire Litigation Practice at Holdsworth & Inkwell, presented at the 2024 Western States Wildfire Litigation Conference on multi-state utility wildfire defense frameworks.
Team
Day-to-Day Support
A matter depends on more than the attorney handling it. Scheduling, filing, and preparation get the same attention as the arguments made in court. Where a dedicated assistant or paralegal supports this practice, they are introduced below.
Location
Where to Find Patty Hewes
The details below show where Patty Hewes practices, whether from a single office or more than one, along with how to reach her there directly.
Phone (916) 324-0333
Fax (916) 867-5309
- Monday
- 9 AM – 5 PM
- Tuesday
- 9 AM – 5 PM
- Wednesday
- 9 AM – 5 PM
- Thursday
- 9 AM – 5 PM
- Friday
- 9 AM – 5 PM
- Saturday
- Closed
- Sunday
- Closed
Business Profiles
Elsewhere Online
The links below lead to places Patty Hewes can be found online, apart from this site. These are directory and networking listings, not credentials, offered simply as additional ways to locate her.
One point of contact.
Reach Patty Hewes
For wildfire recovery matters, contact Patty Hewes directly to discuss where things stand.