The Silverpine Approach

If you have ever hired an attorney in the past, you have very likely experienced some of the things that give the legal profession its reputation for poor customer service. Silverpine Law is different. Rather than pay for advertising, this firm invests in client relationships. A new client is not an opportunity to lead a wild goose chase of hourly billing activities that maximize our short-term profit. Rather, a new client relationship is an opportunity to leave a lasting positive impression that will bring exponential revenue to our firm in the future when the client refers a few of their friends and associates. Many of our clients were originally referred to us by different attorneys at other firms who trust that Silverpine Law will provide the client with excellent service. To make this referral-based approach work (thereby eliminating advertising costs) Silverpine Law does five simple things that are surprisingly rare in the legal world…

1. We are accessible and communicative.

Have you ever hired a lawyer and then found that every time you try to call their office, they seem to be “on another line” or “away from their desk?” That does not happen at Silverpine Law. We do not hide from our clients. We provide frequent updates on your case, and at a bare minimum will email you once per month (usually once per week) to let you know what is happening. You will not be left in the dark.

2. We send transparent invoices.

When other firms send invoices to their clients, they frequently use fancy legal language that clients cannot understand. Sometimes this is intentional, to facilitate overbilling. Clients of those firms commonly receive invoices that feel like an incomprehensible code message with a dollar demand at the bottom. Not at Silverpine Law. Our invoices show exactly how much time we spent on each task and contain explanations in plain English describing what we accomplished during that time.

3. We prioritize each client’s goals.

The legal profession is full of smart attorneys who craft brilliantly-complex litigation strategies but lose sight of their clients’ goals. Attorneys, most of whom enjoy theoretical complexity, often fail to properly connect with the practical, pragmatic businesspeople who hire them. To avoid this common problem, Silverpine Law quickly identifies and continually clarifies each client’s unique set of priorities. Some clients want to fight hard for their principles, while other clients are focused strictly on dollars and cents. Some clients want deep and sophisticated advice that accounts for all the nuances of legal research, while other clients just want the basics so they can make a quick decision. Although we have the skills for brass-knuckles commercial litigation and courtroom trials, we recognize that some clients are better served by a well-researched settlement negotiation. One size does not fit all.

4. We stick to our strengths.

Many people mistakenly believe that all lawyers have basically the same training and skills, but that is not true for high-level lawyers in modern practice. If you needed neurosurgery, you would not want to hire a general family doctor. Although the legal profession does not have formal recognized “specialties” like the medical profession, the same kind of thinking must apply when hiring a lawyer. A lawyer who primarily practices some other kind of law may believe they are competent to handle your case, but they will undoubtedly spend many expensive hours learning things Silverpine Law already knows. For our part, if Silverpine Law feels that your case does not fit comfortably into our areas of competence, we will happily help you find different counsel.

5. We charge reasonable rates.

Overhead expenses are among the largest drivers of price in the legal industry. Some overhead expenses are truly necessary, and the firms that skip them do so at their clients’ peril. For example, a good firm like Silverpine Law must pay for high-quality staff, efficiency-multiplying software programs, good insurance, top-grade legal research tools, and digital security measures to protect client data. However, many overhead expenses common at other law firms are wholly unnecessary, driving up the prices paid by clients. Unnecessary overhead expenses include things like advertising, lavish office parties, lazy outsourcing, redundant staffing, and extravagant sculptures in a fancy marble lobby. By investing heavily in what is truly important — and cutting the rest — Silverpine Law is able to keep its prices affordable for clients while still maintaining a profit for our attorneys that matches or exceeds the profits enjoyed by more traditional (old-fashioned) firms. We operate a sophisticated state, federal, and international commercial litigation practice in Washington DC, the city that draws this nation’s most elite lawyers. Accordingly, we are not a “cheap” firm. If you would rather hire an attorney who needs to offer deep discounts to attract clients, we wish you luck; and we remind you, for future reference, that Silverpine Law handles legal-malpractice disputes if you end up needing to sue that cheap attorney for mishandling your case.