As a young girl, Patricia Holland was obsessed with the FBI, read every Nancy Drew book and was fascinated by the workings of the criminal justice system. Today, Holland is one of the top attorneys in the Triangle and has been practicing civil defense litigation in the Raleigh office of Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog LLP since 1982.

After earning her J.D. from the Wake Forest University School of Law in 1979, Holland served for three years as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, after which she joined her current firm where she has remained since 1982. Holland has been recognized repeatedly as one of America’s best lawyers in the field of employment law. She was also recently selected, by a poll of her professional peers, as one of the top 10 lawyers in the state and among the top 50 female lawyers in the state.

“One of the interesting things about law,” she says, “is that the more you work in the field, the more interesting places it will take you.” Her path is a perfect example. As a self-confessed criminal-law buff, Holland decided in law school that she would become a federal prosecutor, and for three years, that’s exactly what she did. Working on a combination of criminal and civil cases, Holland’s interests came full-circle. “I was working with FBI agents quite a bit,” she reminisces “And I really came to a point where I decided that it wasn’t for me.” She did learn a lot, however – namely that she loves trial work, has great respect for the federal judicial system, and that “juries usually do the right thing.” One of Holland’s major cases involved representing a military hospital and doctor in a wrongful death case with a co-defendant represented by counsel from the predecessor to her firm, Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog. So impressed were they with her professionalism, knowledge and passion that they offered her a place in the firm.

Now, Holland’s practice has evolved into a near 50/50 split between advisory work with employers and litigation. “Over the years I came to realize that the courtroom is not an ideal place to resolve employment disputes,” she says. “So now, a large part of what I do is advisory work with employers in an attempt to prevent lawsuits or claims by helping employers recognize potential problems and deal with them before they grow into serious matters.” In June, Holland took a class at Harvard University in advanced negotiation, and she was recently selected as a charter member of the North Carolina Academy of Superior Court Mediators.

As evidenced by her enrollment in classes at Harvard, Holland is a firm believer in growth, both personally and professionally. “Both of my parents strongly believed that there was nothing that I couldn’t do if I set my mind to it – hence the FBI stuff all over my bedroom,” she laughs. “They made every academic opportunity available to me, starting with the day I was born.” That same day, her grandfather opened a bank account for her and deposited $25, giving strict instructions that her parents were to deposit $25 each month thereafter until she graduated from high school – which they did. “When I graduated, I was blessed with quite a bit to get me started in the pursuit of higher education, and it all grew out of just $25.” The lesson? That big things can grow from the smallest seeds.

Though she says that law school was difficult, that didn’t stop her from excelling. She was a member of the Wake Forest Law Review and Moot Court Board, and in her undergraduate career, she was awarded the prestigious Alma Mater award at Wittenberg University in Ohio. Handed out annually to a woman in her junior year, and hand-picked by a vote of her peers, the award is reserved for a woman who epitomizes the university ideals of outstanding academic pursuits and leadership.

As for her future, Holland is looking forward to continuing a dream that she and her father shared before he recently passed away: educating the community on the issues of overpopulation of domestic animals. “Before his death, my father established The Holland Family Scholarship Fund at the N.C. State Veterinary School for students to help lessen their debt load upon graduation.” The scholarship also contains a criteria that the students receiving the scholarship have a vested interest in shelter medicine. “I look forward to the day when I can devote more time working in that arena. My father told me shortly before his death that he wanted me to use my God-given talents to help people even more, and I’ve been fortunate to have done that in my career, but there is quite a bit more that I would like to do, both for people as well as for homeless animals in supporting efforts to reduce pet over-population.”