About Our Firm

Commitment to Excellence

Statewide Representation in Personal Injury and Employment Law

Attorneys of Patterson Harkavy LLP have provided high-quality, energetic legal representation to individuals North Carolina for more than three decades. Formerly known as Smith Patterson, the present firm was founded by Hank Patterson and Jonathan Harkavy, who each have practiced for more than 30 years. With offices in Raleigh, Greensboro, and Chapel Hill, North Carolina, our practice today serves clients statewide.

Focused Representation

With extensive experience in focused areas of practice, the firm has obtained notable results on behalf of clients in personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice, workers' compensation, labor and employment law, civil rights, and criminal defense. We represent individuals and labor unions in complex litigation, class actions, trial and appellate practice, and advocacy before a variety of administrative bodies and the North Carolina General Assembly.

Qualified to Protect Your Interests

Many of our attorneys graduated with honors at their respective law schools and served in prestigious clerkships before entering private practice. Six of our attorneys have more than 20 years of experience. Members of the firm regularly provide mediation and arbitration services; teach at law schools, universities and professional education seminars; and are active in bar and public interest organizations. From this solid foundation, our trial lawyers have achieved notable awards and rulings in labor and employment litigation and in recovering compensation for victims of serious injury.

Commitment to the Community and the Profession

The accomplished lawyers of Patterson Harkavy regularly contribute to the legal community and to professional organizations. The firm has litigated in affiliation with the American Civil Liberties Union, the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund Inc., and local and international unions.

We have held leadership positions in the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys, the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, the North Carolina Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the National Employment Lawyers Association, Legal Aid of North Carolina and the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee. Our attorneys have served as Chair of the Litigation Section, the Dispute Resolution Section, and the Employment and Labor Section of the North Carolina Bar Association; as Co-Chair of the Civil Procedure Study Commission; and as chair of the North Carolina Appellate Rules Study Committee.

We are active in teaching and writing in our areas of practice. Members of the firm have taught or lectured at the law schools at UNC, Duke, Wake Forest, Campbell, William & Mary, and Cornell, and lecture on a regular basis for groups such as the American Bar Association, the North Carolina Bar Association, the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, the American Arbitration Association, the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys, the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers, and the South Carolina Bar Association. We have contributed to the publications of these and other organizations, to law journals, and to books and treatises.

Statewide: 1 (800) 458-2541
For more information about our legal services or the attorneys of our firm, contact us online or call our offices in Raleigh, Chapel Hill, or Greensboro to arrange your consultation.