After leaving the Secondary School of Economics and Sociology of Koper in 1989, Dr. Patrick Vlačič (born on 22 February 1970 in Slovenj Gradec) enrolled in the Faculty of Law, the University of Ljubljana. He graduated in 1995 and then worked for two years (1995–1997) as a trainee clerk at the Higher Court of Koper. He passed the national bar examination in 1998. He gained his LL.M. in maritime law from the Faculty of Law in Split (2001), Croatia, and his PhD from the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana (2005).

From 1997 he worked at the Faculty of Maritime Studies and Transport of the University of Ljubljana, where he first became Assistant Professor.  In 2001, he became Senior Lecturer for the courses International Transport Law; Corporate and Transport Law; and Maritime and Corporate Law. From 2004 he has been Head of the Department for Maritime and Transport Law.

Mr Vlačič gained valuable business and management experience as Director of Portorož Airport (2002 to 2004). Between May and November 2004, he was Advisor to the Minister of Transport.