Patrick S. Wooten was appointed as a Deputy Commissioner for the North Carolina Industrial Commission in May 2022.
Prior to his appointment as a Deputy Commissioner, Wooten served in the Workers' Compensation Section of the North Carolina Department of Justice as a Special Deputy Attorney General since 2003. During his time at the Department of Justice, Wooten litigated complex workers' compensation claims on behalf of numerous State agencies, departments, and institutions and represented State agencies seeking statutory workers' compensation lien recovery from third-party cases in Superior Court. He also performed substantial appellate work, including representing the State in workers' compensation and criminal appeals at the North Carolina Court of Appeals and North Carolina Supreme Court.
Prior to joining the Department of Justice in 2003, Wooten worked as a Law Clerk and Research Assistant for North Carolina Supreme Court Justice G.K. Butterfield, Jr.
Wooten earned his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his J.D. from North Carolina Central University School of Law.