Shareholder
Las Vegas & Reno
Number of Employees: 109
Years in Nevada: 40
Years with Company: 39
How did you first get into the legal profession?
My father, David Gordon, who never had the opportunity to attend law school after college, started grooming me (or indoctrinating to be precise) at age 5. He sat me down in front of the old 50’s TV programs, Divorce Court and Perry Mason. I never considered any other career.
What do you like most and least about your industry?
I have been extraordinarily lucky because I practice in a specialized field, complex insolvency, which constantly challenges me with problems requiring not only legal expertise, but an understanding of tax, securities, economics and finance. So, what I like most is that the practice of law provides this type of opportunity for complex problem solving. What I like least is dealing with incompetent attorneys practicing in areas for which they are not qualified.
What would you want your legacy to future generations to be?
The firm of Gordon Silver was founded in the 1960s by Louis Wiener, Neil Galatz and David Goldwater. I joined right out of UCLA Law School in 1973. While the firm name has evolved, the goals and culture have remained remarkably consistent. We are a firm where a significant number of our people join and then spend the rest of their working lives here. I hope that the attorneys who are starting their careers with us this coming fall will be asked the same question about Gordon Silver 39 years from now.
What is the biggest challenge your industry is facing?
In addition to technology and the rising costs of providing legal services, in Las Vegas and elsewhere in the state, it is challenging to remain a Nevada-based, full-service law firm. We decided several years ago, in order to flourish and provide the level of legal services that would be required in the years to come, Gordon Silver would become a Nevada-based regional firm. With the addition of practice groups and offices in Phoenix, Reno and Washington D.C., together with our venture with Congressman Jon Porter providing governmental services through Porter Gordon Silver, we believe that we are meeting this challenge, and look forward to additional offices along the Pacific Coast.
