Part II
[Previous: “He Usually Stays Late to Fight ‘a Government Juggernaut of Malice and Stupidity’ — and He Usually Wins,” June 3.]
To the disappointment of top-drawer niche attorney Robert P. Silverstein and a gallery full of California business owners whose property is threatened by the almost draconian rules of eminent domain, Prop. 98, which would have tamed the concept that opponents call “monstrous,” was swamped last week in a statewide election for the second time in 18 months.
A land-use expert, he is one of relatively few lawyers in the state to dedicate his entire practice to challenging and defeating raw, massive government muscle, especially when, in his view, they prey on terrified business or land owners who feel beaten before they start.
Based across town, Mr. Silverstein’s Culver City connection is that last year he represented two of the besieged small business owners on Exposition when City Hall swept down the block and acquired every business on the rundown street just off the intersection of Washington and National boulevards.
Standing Vigil
Medium-tall, sturdy, clear-eyed and looking as young as his 39 years, Robert Silverstein, one of the most successful attorneys of his genre in California, offers cost-free advice to overwhelmed merchants whose property the government is threatening to acquire through the strictly hardball process of eminent domain.
The government is not your friend, he says. “They will try to grind you down. That often necessitates a tremendous counter-effort to counteract this almost evil force of government. The only hope that people generally have is to get (the case moved beyond) the local government level, and in front of a judge where, for the first time, we may be able to get a good ruling. Take it above the Planning Commission, the City Council or the School Board level.
“This type of law is Administrative Law, which forces an innocent landowner or innocent business owner to do what is called ‘exhausting administrative remedies.’ That means you have to make every possible argument, every argument, to the Planning Commission or Council at the beginning of the process. You are not allowed to raise any argument in front of a judge unless it already has been presented to the Planning Commission or the Council.
“It requires a very detailed and comprehensive presentation of the issues at the city/administrative level.
Lopsided Odds
“However, it is almost always a rigged game. The fix is in. Nothing you can say or do is going to sway the government from doing the wrong that it intends to do.”
Comfortable in shirt sleeves at the end of a shining mahogany table in his busy — yes, cluttered — upper-story office off downtown Pasadena, Mr. Silverstein was uncorking roundhouse charges at the government, the kind usually issued by wild-haired men or women with jittery eyes and a nervous tic somewhere.
His politics are to the right of all of those people.
Mr. Silverstein does not even come close to fitting the profile of a giant-killer, which must be a clue to his enormous success.
“It is only when you take it outside of that realm by filing a lawsuit and putting it in front of a judge that there is any hope for a fair and just determination. A fair and just determination, we contend, will favor my clients.”
Thoroughness Is Crucial
The antithesis of flamboyant, he gives a prosaic explanation for slaying the giant that is the government. “ Partly, we have had some good judges,” he says. “But my approach is, we try our best to leave no stone unturned That means rigorous research, rigorous analysis of issues, rigorous investigation of facts.
“When I say ‘we,’ I have a couple of attorneys who work for me and a paralegal. But we are very small. You might call it a boutique firm. It’s just us. We endeavor to be as comprehensive and as zealous as humanly possible. That often will tip the balance or will result in a record that enables us to make the right kind of arguments to a judge.”
To condense his strategy, is it that when he wins, Mr. Silverstein outworks the opposition?
“Well, I do have an ability to work round the clock,” he says. “Just last week, I went 48 hours nonstop because I have to for clients. I do so willingly.
Depends on Which 5 or 6
“Often people will leave at 5 or 6 o’clock. I don’t leave at 5 or 6 o’clock. If anything, I leave at 5 or 6 a.m. And that’s because I will do everything humanly possible to defend my clients and represent their interests.
“It’s hard to say we will always outwork the opposition because they may be a law firm with 300 attorneys. And so, inherently, it’s not a level playing field,” one of Mr. Silverstein’s major understatements.
“But pound for pound, person for person, I will stand up to any of the fanciest law firms or the biggest names out there. Not to sound cliche’d, but we are fighting for truth, justice and the American way. That really propels me. I will go to the enth degree to what I am physically capable of doing.”
A latter-day Superman, perhaps?
To put a cherry on the cake, Mr. Silverstein says, with modesty:
“I don’t think anyone can compete with the number of hours I put in.”
He only takes a day off “if circumstances allow.
“That is where my wife is very patient because there is only so much time in the day. When I don’t come home for two nights in a row, there is some understandable frustration. It’s difficult to balance these things.”
(To be continued)
