Firm History

The firm was founded in 1993 as Edwards & Kirby, LLP, with John Edwards, David Kirby, and Mark Holt as attorneys. Bill Bystrynski joined the firm in 1994 and Isaac Thorp joined the firm in 1998. The firm was renamed Kirby & Holt, LLP when John Edwards began his service in the United States Senate after being elected in 1998. Laurie Armstrong joined the firm in 2004 as an attorney, having previously worked with the firm as a nurse beginning in 1993.

The firm is led by David Kirby and Mark Holt.

David Kirby was counsel for plaintiff in the trial resulting in North Carolina’s largest personal injury verdict, and was named one of eight Lawyers of the Year nationally in 1996 by Lawyers Weekly USA. He is named to Best Lawyers in America and is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates – the 100 top trial lawyers in the United States.

Mark Holt is a veteran personal injury and malpractice attorney and is listed in Best Lawyers in America. He was the first chair of the Professional Negligence Section of the N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers and secured the largest reported birth injury settlement in North Carolina history.