If he were to go to law school all over again, Perry Liss, ’09, would do some things differently:  he’d seek out more advice from the Career Strategies Office, for one.  He’d complete a co-op placement.  And he would study a lot harder.

“I was not a very good law student,” Liss admitted.

Happily, there’s no need for a do-over, since Liss’s entrepreneurial drive has more than made up for his half-hearted efforts in law school. 

Not only has Liss established a successful practice in Center City, he has made it to the SuperLawyers list of Rising Stars.  Twice.

To be sure, other members of the law school’s inaugural class have received recognition from SuperLawyers.  Nathan Fox, an associate at Begley, Carlin & Mandio, was named a 2014 Rising Star for Land Use and Zoning Law.  Megan Feehan, an associate at Cozen O’Connor, was named a Rising Star in Family Law in 2013. Jennifer Hermansky, an associate at Greenberg Traurig, was named a Rising Star for Immigration Law in 2013 and 2014. Kevin Huang, an associate at Dilworth Paxson, was named a Rising Star for Bankruptcy in 2013 and 2014. Katherine Robinson, an associate at Cipriani & Werner, has been named a Rising Star for Personal Injury Law three years in a row.  And Dan Siedman, an associate at Ciardi Ciardi & Astin, was named a 2014 Rising Star in Bankruptcy Law.

But Liss is the only one to gain such notice after striking out on his own, earning Rising Star status for Social Security Disability Law in 2012 and for Personal Injury Law in 2014.

“I never expected anything like that,” said Liss, who credits his success to personal ties to principals at Kenneth L. Baritz & Associates, from whom he leases office space, and who gave him targeted advice on tasks like drafting complaints in a hurry.

Liss also acknowledges that his innate skills as a salesman, an actor and a counselor to emotionally fraught clients haven’t hurt.  

In his first year, Liss focused on Social Security Disability cases, buying leads online and then earning a 25 percent stake in past-due benefits that clients received.  

But, Liss said, “whatever case came in the door, that’s what I did,” even as he scrambled to acquire malpractice insurance, open an IOLTA escrow account and teach himself how to navigate the municipal filing system.

As Liss helped more than a few tenants get out of leases or receive credit for the cost of repairs they made to their homes, he won their trust.

“I became the go-to guy for landlord issues,” Liss said. “They would come back if a relative was arrested or if there’d been a ‘slip and fall.’”

Liss gleaned insights for handling criminal defense work by simply watching events unfold in the courtrooms of the Criminal Justice Center for a couple of days. 

In his first appearances in criminal court, Liss said, “I would act as if I knew what I was doing.”  

Before long, he really did.

As of the summer of 2014, Liss had largely succeeded in all three of the criminal cases he’d argued before juries.   He won acquittals for one client on six felony charges of rape, although the man was convicted of two charges of indecent assault. 

It remains a painful disappointment for Liss, who believed his client had done nothing wrong.

“He’s now on the Meghan’s Law registry,” Liss explained. 

Liss has been surprised by how quickly he has built a practice sufficiently flush to let him buy investment property and to launch a home-improvement business on the side.

At the end of the day, Liss thinks, successful legal practice is a matter of character.

“I’ve made it my business to be very personable,” Liss said.  “I’m honest with my clients.  That’s why they love me.”