LM Grad Quickly Moving Up The Ranks In The Business World

About 10 years ago, Perry Liss sat in a Lower Moreland classroom wondering where his high school education would take him. Little did he know at the time, but his argumentative attitude and constant bickering with teachers would go a long way in determining his future.

Whether it was a disagreement with a fellow classmate or the teacher in charge, or trying to prove why his side of the argument was the correct one, his personality and ambitious drive have led him down the path of owning his own firm, Perry Liss Law, less than a decade after leaving Lower Moreland Township.

After Liss, 27, graduated from Lower Moreland in 2002, he attended Smeal School of Business at the Pennsylvania State University. It was there that he first came up with the plan for his own business.

“I studied finance at Penn State University and by junior year I wasn't sure I could see myself working in that world,” Liss said. “More than being successful making money, I wanted to help people and make a difference. I wasn’t sure I could ever do that in finance. The only other thing I've ever been really good at is arguing, so between that and the fact that many of my best family friends are attorneys, I started looking into law school.”

His decision to start his own firm was an easy one. He toiled with the option of possibly working for a hedge fund in New York City, but once he got a full-paid scholarship to Drexel University’s Earle Mack School of Law, his mind was made up.

The firm officially opened on April 22, 2010 and is located at 21 S. 12th Street in Philadelphia. It didn’t take long to confirm this was the right move for him considering he got his first client the very next day.

Since his entire portfolio of previous work experience entails being a camp counselor at an overnight camp, he’s had to depend on his education and family to get him where is he today.

“I actually never worked after college, or even much before college for that matter,” Liss said. “I went right from Penn State to law school, and then right from law school to opening my own firm. What prepared me for opening my firm was my entrepreneurial mindset, my four years in the Smeal School of Business, and mostly, my father's guidance. He has owned his own businesses since he was 19 years old. I guess it rubbed off on me.”

Liss is taking the same road as his father, opening up his own business at a very young age. Some future clients may be turned off by his inexperience, but as Liss says, his age can also work to his advantage.

“Some people definitely think I'm too young. I always make sure I wear my glasses when I'm in court or when I meet a client for the first time. Somewhat because I need them, but mostly because it makes me look a little older and more mature. But at the same time, it really works to my benefit, too. Some of the people that think I'm too young are impressed that someone so young can manage to run his own firm. And a lot of my clients hire me because I am young. They tell me they think I'll be more aggressive and motivated than older, more established attorneys because I'm trying to get where they are.”

He specializes in criminal law, social security/disability, traffic/motor violations and landlord/tenant & real estate issues.

“Right now what I know best is Landlord/Tenant law just because I've been doing it the longest. I think I would like to focus on social security disability though,” he said.

Even though the young entrepreneur is living life in the fast track now, make no mistake about it, he recognizes where it all started.

“Lower Moreland definitely played a role in me doing what I'm doing now,” Liss said. “Growing up in Lower Moreland was great. I recognize the lifestyle my parents provided for me in Lower Moreland and I feel strongly about doing the same for my children.”