Written By: Brandy Miller | February 24, 2017 | No Comments
Larry W. Miller, Jr., Esquire, is the owner and managing partner of Miller Law Group, PLLC. This three attorney firm includes his father, Larry Sr., and an associate attorney, Ali Audi. “When I started this firm in 2001, it was just me. I had a dream to open my own firm and represent people who needed help. I’ve always believed that if you represent people for the right reasons and pursue cases that are right, the business will follow. That’s always been my goal with this practice. When I started, I had one client. I had no money and I asked my mom, Linda, to answer calls for me. The two of us were the law firm. For three years we grew fairly substantially, just the two of us. My father, who spent his career in corporate law with his specialty being intellectual property, always wanted to be in private practice. The opportunity came for him to join me but he made it clear that that the firm was mine. He became a partner and I took the title of managing partner.”
Larry Miller has always had his office located in West Lawn. “We’ve expanded here over the years as more space became available. When I started in 2001, I was 26 years old. My biggest challenge was trying to convince clients to trust a 26-year-old versus a 52-year-old attorney.” So Miller networked to explain his vision to people. This vision became his promise to prospective clients. He told them the reason he started this firm was to treat every client as our most important client. “I said I would return their phone calls the same day. I’m going to give you attention and work my butt off for your case. You’re not going to get calls from an associate you never heard of and you will have a guy who cares about what you’re doing.” Apparently, Miller’s vision resonated with people. He gained new clients that were happy and grew the practice by word of mouth began.
What makes Larry Miller, Jr. different from other attorneys? “I fear that it sounds like I’m bragging when I say this but attorneys not all of them but some have the reputation as being callous and not caring. They do their job and they bill as much as they can for it. We have always been different here. It sounds cliché but I have been determined through college and law school to help people. I went to law school to get the power to help people through the legal system.”
Larry’s first job out of law school is what brought him to Reading. He started out in “a big firm here in Reading, the typical law firm and there were aspects about a big firm that I did not like.” That experience prompted him to venture out on his own. He felt he couldn’t fulfill his vision of helping people where he was. Miller surmises that of the ten or twelve firms that started in 2001, he believes his firm is the only one that has survived. He thinks “most of the others failed pretty quickly because the economy was tough. There wasn’t enough business and money to go around. But I, as a 26-year-old, made it because once I helped someone and they saw how I did it, they have been loyal to me since then.” Miller Law Group, PLLC provides legal counsel to private individuals as well as businesses. His firm specializes in small to mid-size business law, estate planning, family law and intellectual property, including patents and trademarks.
Larry says that he is “primarily as a problem solver, not necesarily a litigator.” Litigation is a tool that he has in his arsenal, however, not the tool he goes to first. His goal is “to fix the problem the client has, the problem that was so bad they couldn’t do it themselves.” He describes his job as being tasked with fixing the problem in the most efficient way possible to reduce their attorney bill and get them to where they need to be. “Sometimes litigation is a necessary component of that. Often there are settlement negotiations and creative ways to accomplish results.” Larry is proud to say that upon comparison of legal bills his fees are typically a third of what others charge. He understands the stress his clients are under and the decisions they must make when coming to him. “I care deeply about my clients and I’ve had to learn how to handle the stress that I take on from the problems clients are dealing with.”
Larry Miller is the author of “Success In Your Career & Personal Life.” The book is intended for young people, high school and college age. “I decided to write this book to lay out a very simple plan that anyone can follow. Even though my intention was for young people starting out to read this book, it has helped many adults making career changes or personal changes at any age. It has been available for purchase at Barnes and Noble bookstores and is available at my office.”
Originally from Lancaster County, Larry graduated from Lampeter-Strasburg High School, Greensboro College, NC, and Villanova University Law School. His wife, Brandy, has also now joined the office staff. Larry and Brandy have been married for sixteen years and have two children, Veronica, age 11 and Larry III (Trey), age nine. They live in Mohnton with their cocker spaniel, Ralph. Larry Miller has a well-known reputation in the Berks County legal community. “I’ve been around long enough to have earned status as one of the names everyone knows. People know that I’m prepared. I believe I’m known as a person who isn’t combative until I need to be. There are attorneys who know they can work with us to resolve problems. They know they can talk to me. If I do have to go to court, I have a reputation for being very strong and that’s part of the job. People know me and those on the other side know to be on their toes.” Most of Larry’s clients are from Berks and surrounding counties.
There are many success stories that Larry has over the years. He said, “I love the ones that end in big hugs and magical moments.” One of these cases was for a gentleman in Berks County that bought a farm with the intention of turning into a race horse stable. “My client was denied permission and shut down by the township. This case ended up going the whole way to Commonwealth Court and we won. This case is now the preeminent case to be cited in agricultural determination for permit exemptions. We literally made law with that case.”
Miller says that there are other cases that just break your heart. “Another case we had involved a young girl who had been abused by her father. She was destroyed, could not make eye contact with anyone and she and her mother came to our office to change her name to be able to get away from her father. I asked her if I could take her hand and I told her that I’d do my best to help her get through this. We went to court. She had to testify and the judge did what we asked for him to do. When the judge told her that her name was changed, she looked at me with tears bursting, smiling ear to ear and ran across the court to hug me really tight. She said, ‘You did do it. Thank you.’ That’s the kind of moment I run this practice for and I’ve had lots of moments like that.” Looking into the future, Larry Miller sees his practice growing with a small like-minded team. “I like being the kind of attorneys that are about personal service and I look for the kind of associates that treat clients the way I do. You have to be a person that wants to find justice and sometimes not charge for it. This firm helps people first and foremost. People find comfort here and I always want that to be our firm. We are extremely grateful to all of our clients”.