Over the past several years, there has been an influx of out-of-town attorneys and law firms advertising throughout western Pennsylvania. It is astonishing how they have flooded local TV, radio and the internet with their ads. These lawyers and law firms are not based in Pittsburgh, or even western PA for that matter, but they try to act like they are. They set up a local mailing address, open a small office, and even get themselves a “412” phone number. Many of them even have photos and videos of Pittsburgh on their website. They do this to try and convince you into thinking that they’re local, but they aren’t. Their main attorneys are actually located in their “other” offices that are located in other cities around the country.
These out-of-town lawyers aren’t your neighbors, they don’t live in our communities. Their kids don’t go to the same schools or play on the same midget football teams and softball teams as our kids. They don’t shop at the same stores as us, and I can almost guarantee you that they have no idea what type of store the “Iggle” is. And you won’t see them in Sunday School. Several of them say they are from Pittsburgh originally, but they haven’t lived in western PA for decades. Others will sponsor local sports teams in an effort to disguise themselves as being local to western PA. I suppose they think that this somehow entitles them to claim that they are Yinzers.
These out-of-town attorneys and law firms are from all over the country – Philadelphia, New York City, Ohio, West Virginia, New Jersey, Georgia, Florida, Las Vegas, Massachusetts, Connecticut and California. Many are national law firms who essentially are trying to take over every major market and metropolitan area of the country, much like corporate America does. They use the same strategy in every city they invade – open a local office, flood the market with ads, sponsor a sports team, try to create name recognition which they didn’t earn through any efforts locally. To them, it’s more about business and the bottom line.
How do you know if you are choosing a law firm that is actually from western PA? Do they have roots here? Do they know the locals and the lay of the land? Before you choose a lawyer to represent you in your time of need, do your homework. Take the time to Google them and research their website a little. See where their offices are under the “contact us” tab on their websites. They’ll all claim to have a Pittsburgh location, and it will probably be the first to show up under their office locations. But do these lawyers and their firms have offices in other cities like Philadelphia, NYC, Atlanta, Orlando, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Scranton, Wheeling or Weirton? Do they have offices in multiple states across the country? If so, you can almost be certain that this is one of the national law firms that is not locally based, and one that does not know what Pittsburghers are all about.
D&M is locally based. Our offices are in Pittsburgh and Beaver, Pennsylvania. Our lawyers are from here. We went to school here. We live here. We know western Pennsylvania. This is our home, and you are our people.
If you want to be represented by a national law firm whose main goal is expanding their business model across the country, then by all means, choose someone else. However, if you want someone who lives here, works here, cheers for the local teams and loves all things western PA, then give us a call. We’d love to hear from you.
