In Focus: Patrick M. Lamb, MAI
“Credibility Outlasts Adversity”
Patrick Lamb
Entrepreneurship in unstable times is the stuff of universally-appealing stories, but it’s not every day this kind of gumption plays like a reoccurring right of passage. Lamb Hanson Lamb President/CEO Patrick Lamb is a fourth generation appraiser, having bought the company in 2009 during the height of the economic recession. Now celebrating 100 years in business, Lamb Hanson Lamb was first transferred during the uncertainty of the post-WWII era. Patrick’s father Michael Lamb was next to take over the company after Boeing turned the lights off in Seattle in the 1970’s. These men offer a rare example of opportunity seized in the midst of hardship; generally brought on by distressing social and economic conditions. Or perhaps there was something attractive about a company enduring in lean times. “The only reason the business survived is that there was nothing to fight over,” Patrick shares with a laugh.
On his resilient composure, Patrick gives partial credit to growing up as the youngest of nine children. “You just have to have energy” is an explanation he offers with ease. A very full house forced Patrick to develop a tolerance for withstanding scrutiny at an early age. Today, he serves as Director and Supervisor of Lamb Hanson Lamb, providing training and guidance to his growing team of appraisers and trainees. Patrick has also spent the last five years focused in litigation work, where he offers trial consultation and in-court testimony in settings ranging from Superior to State and Federal courts in Washington and Oregon. Patrick has cultivated a winning history on crucial cases in some very antagonistic environments where his exemplary communication skills, rapport, and credibility helped to persuade a jury. He sees this role on the stand to act primarily as an educator. The Washington State Bar Association invited Patrick to speak in front of their 2015 gathering in Spokane, demonstrating the industry’s familiarity and respect for his growing track record. Patrick describes his litigation preparation and time in court as “second nature;” it’s a process he now welcomes.
Patrick learned real estate valuation and related methodology from The Appraisal Institute, an organization he continues to value in a profound way. The feeling must be mutual; The Appraisal Institute honored him with the Seattle Chapter’s President’s Award in 2013. These days, Patrick represents The Appraisal Institute at the local and national level via the Leadership Development and Advisory Council (LDAC), travelling to Washington D.C. to meet with senators and representatives face to face over the last three years. He articulates the experience through a personal passion for advocacy, adding “it’s thrilling to be given the opportunity, and to present a persuasive argument to the decision makers themselves.” It’s a privilege which Patrick says “represents something greater than yourself” by contributing to a bond between appraisers and policy makers across the nation.
In a more local context, Patrick contributes through his involvement on the Board of Governors of the nonpartisan, nonprofit organization City Club, which seeks to empower and inform citizens on electoral issues, civic duties, and grassroots leadership. It comes as no surprise that a person so acutely aware of his place in history- and mindful of its inevitable challenges- labors to make a positive, credible contribution while equipping individuals similarly aimed at a brighter future.
