Jarrett Silver, JD/MBA
email: info@silverlegal.net
phone: +1 678.805.7458
Startup Attorney | Patent Attorney | Outside General Counsel
Mr. Silver's approach to silverlegal comes from his internal struggles with law firm norms. He had worked in a law firm with an international reputation and in-house at a multinational medical technology company. Even at the time when his clients could afford to pay high legal fees, Mr. Silver has always struggled with the hourly billing model that is so prevalent in the legal field. In the law firm environment, he felt he was doing something wrong when billing clients for more than what was expected even when unforeseeable complications arose and extra work was legitimately needed. Then, spending several years in an in-house legal department, he learned why budgets matter to businesses and why foreseeability of a major line item like legal spend is important. An in-house counsel doesn't care how much time an outside lawyer spends on a matter as long as the overall costs are reasonable and expected and quality answers are timely. Clients are the same way. Mr. Silver also struggled with advising clients to have the lawyers provide more clarity when the clients would have proceeded anyway. In-house, he learned that not all issues needed an expensive 100% clear answer when an affordable 80% clear answer would be satisfactory–not every legal issue is a bet-the-company issue. He has also struggled with the lack of clear legal advice due to the inherent ambiguity in the grey areas of the law and unclear facts. The "it depends" standard lawyer answer is rarely actionable without another "plain English" lawyer to translate the options. Mr. Silver felt that legal service doesn't have to be this way, especially for startups and small businesses that need clear guidance and budget predictability.
Mr. Silver is a seasoned generalist with focused experience in startups, business law, intellectual property, contracts, technology law, employment, healthcare law, and corporate compliance. He builds a primary-care lawyer relationship with his clients, which is suitable for many of his clients' day-to-day needs. When specialists are needed, he is happy to reach outside of silverlegal and facilitate the interaction. He prefers communication in plain English regardless of the subject matter and the roll-up-your-sleeves practicality of an in-house lawyer. For much of his legal career, he has had experience dealing with international clients and is used to delivering international-level complex representation on his client matters.
Before founding silverlegal in 2016, Mr. Silver provided legal counsel to a multinational company with $3.5B+ in annual revenue. He was also in charge of the US Compliance program and transparency efforts for the company's largest division. Prior to that, he worked as a patent prosecution attorney at a large Alexandria, Virginia IP boutique, where he regularly negotiated (e.g., Office Action responses and Examiner interviews) with the USPTO on behalf of his clients to get his clients better scope for their patent claims and worked with foreign associates on inbound and outbound international work.
Mr. Silver is from Marietta, Georgia and enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, eating Asian food and hiking.
Bar Memberships
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Member of the State Bar of Georgia
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Registered to practice before the US Patent and Trademark Office
Employment
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Founder, silverlegal (2016 - Present)
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In-house Counsel at the Getinge Group, a Nordic large cap medtech company publicly listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange (2011 - 2016)
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Patent Associate at Oliff PLC, a top-5 US patent prosecution firm according to IP Today (2008 - 2010) based on patents issued
Education
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JD, Emory University School of Law
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MBA, Emory University Goizueta School of Business
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BS, Cornell University, College of Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering
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International Diploma, Imperial College London, Royal School of Mines, Materials
Honors / Awards
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UpCounsel Stellar Attorney Badge, awarded 6x to silverlegal for top 25% performance and client satisfaction (October 2018, December 2018, and January-April 2019) for, in UpCounsel's words, "More seasoned, high-performing attorneys among the top 25% of attorneys on UpCounsel, based upon performance and client satisfaction."
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Mr. Silver is featured on the Startup Counsel Registry, an international list of attorneys known for working with startups: https://www.startupgc.us/startup-counsel-registry
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Mr. Silver is featured as one of the Best Business Lawyers in the State of Georgia by howtostartanLLC.com
Representative Transactions*
- Helped domestic and international applicants procure US and international intellectual property (patents and trademarks)
- Helped companies navigate federal securities laws and blue sky laws to raise money from investors (Regulation D and Regulation S)
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Helped founders form LLC, C Corps and S Corps and convert existing entity types into different types and add or remove members
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Helped draft, review and revise articles of organization, articles of formation, operating agreements, bylaws, shareholder agreements, Section 83(b) elections, and S Corp variations
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Drafted a software license agreement for a B2B startup
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Helped many startups negotiate contracts with large companies
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Helped a client negotiate a technology license agreement with a university
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Helped companies enter into joint venture arrangement, company purchase agreements, stock purchase agreements and asset sale agreements
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Helped clients create and/or respond to cease and desist and/or demand letters
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Drafted first contracts for consultants, startups and small businesses
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Negotiated sales contracts with GPOs and IDNs on behalf of a medical device company
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Helped a healthcare company negotiate overseas clinical and distribution agreements
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Represented a SaaS company for a custom reseller arrangement
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Helped a company acquire another company while keeping the target's management structure in place
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Helped investors buy into a business
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Helped a software developer sell his technology
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Helped a local business owner sell his business with owner financing
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Helped domestic and international founders that had purchased forms but did not understand them to complete the incorporation process
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Advised clients on and drafted non-compete/non-solicit agreements
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Helped clients transfer and/or domesticate entities across state lines
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Helped multinationals enter into sales contracts with other multinationals
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Simplified clients legal needs by finding and coordinating with other attorneys
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Helped a company negotiate a complete release of its liabilities
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Drafted an installment contract to help a client pay off debts
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Drafted phantom equity and stock option plans for clients
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Helped clients build contract templates that were customized to their business needs
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Drafted promissory notes and loan agreements for clients
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Advised a client about fiduciary duties of a partnership
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Drafted demand letters to parties in breach of their contracts
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Represented a medical device sales organization that entered into a distribution relationship involving the entire product lineup of a division of multinational
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Helped a client assign intellectual property between two parties
* Similar results should not be expected as the facts of individual situations vary widely.
Representative Patent Experience
See Mr. Silver's patent experience on our patent practice webpage.
Recent Speaking Engagements and Community Involvement
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Georgia IP Association (GIPA), Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) Inventor IP Round Table Prize Sponsor, 2023
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The Priggya Aurora Show on Legal Entrepreneurship, Featured Guest, Episode 12 (Discussing Startup Law Practice), 2022
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GIPA IP Bash Sponsor, 2019
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SEMDA PitchRounds Judge, 2019
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Georgia Bio Holiday Party Sponsor, 2018
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IoT Showcase Sponsor, 2018
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TAG IoT Hackathon Sponsor, 2017
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Emory Law School, Attorney Panel on How Attorneys Assist Startups, 2017
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TI:GER Program Panel at Emory Law School, Entrepreneurship Law, 2017
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ACI's 8th Annual Forum on Sunshine Act, Open Payments, and Aggregate Spend Compliance, Panel on Managing Perception of Public Disclosures, 2015
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q1 Pharmaceutical and Device Legal and Compliance Conference, Co-Presenter on Sunshine Act/Open Payments Compliance, 2014
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Conducted several Annual Compliance Trainings for the U.S. executive, sales and marketing employees of Maquet Getinge Group (2012 - 2016)
Feel free to browse our new startup law website, georgiastartup.law, and our new patent law websites, startuppatentattorney.com (focused on the patent needs of startups) and usapatent.law (focused on patent law/IP law more holistically). Mr. Silver's patent attorney bio can be found at attorneybio.usapatent.law and Mr.. Silver's startup attorney bio can be found at attorneybio.georgiastartup.law.
Recent Client Reviews
See Mr. Silver's client reviews here.
Reviews are selectively highlighted from third party review sites from existing and former clients of silverlegal. Past performance is not an indicator of future success, and these reviews should not create any expectations of results from legal representation.