Patrick Dennis McPherson was born in 1963 in Ridgewood, NJ, the fourth of six children born to James and Marguerite McPherson. In 1970, the McPherson Family moved to Bradley Beach, where his father continues to live today. Pat attended Bradley Beach Grammar School. At Asbury Park High School, he excelled at soccer and was a member of the soccer team that won the Central Jersey Group II title. Pat graduated first in his class in 1981 and was appointed to the United States Naval Academy by Senator Bill Bradley.

He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science in Naval Architecture and entered the nuclear submarine service. He was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina and assigned to the Engineering Department of the USS Henry Clay, a ballistic missile submarine home ported in Hly Loch, Scotland (20 miles from his father's birthplace). He did a folow on tour as Communications Officer on ballistic missile submarine USS Tecumseh and participated in one of the last submarine patrols out of Scotland before the Holy Loch submarine base was closed in 1992 at the end of the Cold War.

While stationed in Charleston, he met his future wife, Kirstin, who convinced him that month long periods underwater with 150 men was not conducive to their relationship. Always one to value good advice, Pat left the submarine service, got married, and moved to Washington DC to attend law school. Pat graduated with a Juris Doctor degree from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University in Washington DC in 1995.

Pat is currently a partner in the law firm of Duane Morris, a Philadelphia based firm of over 700 attorneys. He works in the Washington DC office of the firm and is Co-Chair of the firm's Patent Department. He practices Intellectual Property law representing technology complanies regarding their patents, copyrights, and trademarks. Locally, he represents the Vonage Corporation of Holmdel and serves as their outside Intellectual Property cou