Sterling Lawyers, LLC

Understanding our focus and mission may make more sense if you know how Sterling Lawyers, LLC started.

My name is Jeff Hughes. I started practicing at a small, community law firm in 1997 (McLario, Helm & Bertling, S.C. in Menomonee Falls, WI). I mainly practiced family law and with a little criminal/traffic. By the age of 30, I enjoyed a high level of success in the courtroom and with my practice. My compensation was excellent, and I very much enjoyed my work and my clients.

Despite my flourishing legal career, I always had a drive for entrepreneurship. The idea of building an enduring company/team captured my imagination much more than just building my own individual law practice.

I almost always had on-the-side business interests. When I was 25-26 and three years out of law school, I worked a good part of the year at night and weekends starting a dating website that focused on a large niche. That was the right idea and right time, but, in retrospect, I didn't have the ability or maturity to get it done. That business never got going. (Later eHarmony.com did what I envisioned. They executed. I did not.)

I started another business with a partner when I was 28. That business reported on rapidly rising gas prices at individual stations. It failed.

On the day after my 30th birthday, I started another business. That one failed too.

At the age of 31 I had three failed business experiences. Ugh! (Oh yeah - that house painting business I had for three years in college and law school where I worked with my brother . . . that doesn't count.)

So, at the age of 32, I did the natural thing for me . . . I started another business. This business was selling satellite TV service for Dish Network over the internet. It worked well - really well. Over the next eight years we grew that business to $23 million in revenue and over 200 employees.

Along the way we also started an online ad agency, RocketClicks.com. Today, that business helps Sterling Lawyers and another 50 clients or so. It is thriving and growing.

Meanwhile . . . back at the bat cave . . . , my little brain was churning and scheming. I always thought law firms were mostly poorly managed and generally did a crappy job serving clients. I felt I had better ideas for how a law firm should be built around clients' wants and needs.

In late 2013, I had a gut check. It was a moment where I finally told myself to "shut up and quit whining about how things should be and do something." So, along with my long-time colleague, Tony Karls, we decided to start Sterling Lawyers.

We officially opened Sterling Lawyers, LLC for new clients on June 22, 2014.
Where is Sterling Lawyers, LLC going?

So . . . "where is Sterling going?" you say. What is your vision?

Answer: We are building the most impactful family law firm on the planet. We strive to be "country mile" better than every other family firm that exists.

Yes. I am putting our goal on the "world wide web" for everyone to see. If we fail in our quest, all our detractors could justifiably laugh and sneer. We are obsessed with providing an amazing experience to clients and being far better than every family law firm. (That is a huge goal because there are some extraordinary family lawyers at other firms.)

We believe every family in America facing a legal crisis should have the opportunity to work with our firm.

I don't mean to come across as arrogant. It's just that it's true. We are better than the other family law firms. The seed has been planted. We are just waiting for the tree to grow.

Our strategy starts with an obsessive focus on clients. Here are some examples of what I mean.

Clients who know the difference HATE hourly fees. Hourly fees totally suck because they put the lawyer and the client on opposite sides. So, we killed the hourly rate. If we can't serve a client with cost certainty, we don't do it.
The percentage of pro se family law litigants seems to increase each year. Therefore, we are pioneering concepts in mediation, limited scope coaching, and other virtual services. Most law firms have one or two old-school options for prospective clients. We have many with new ones on the drawing board. In essence, we are creating new services that most clients did not even know they wanted.
We constantly ask and survey our clients to see how we can do better. Almost no firms in family do this. It is time consuming to do, and most lawyers don't want to know when they stink. Conversely, when you are consumed with serving clients and getting better, we want to know every little way we can improve.
There are a dozen other examples that happen every day internally because every system, every new hire, every new technology, every strategic decision is undertaken with the family law client in mind. We are not distracted with any other type of law.

In addition to our client focus, we are building new technologies that will serve clients in bigger and better ways. Our team is pushing into new media to offer clients more information in easier to consume formats. We are questioning every "that's how family law is done" statement that we can find.

The experienced team of divorce and child custody attorneys at Sterling Law Offices want to make the difficult process of a family law case as painless as possible. When your future and your family are on the line, it's simply not enough for a lawyer to go through the motions. That's why during emotionally draining and complex cases like divorce and child custody, the members of our Milwaukee office are prepared to go above and beyond in order to support you and get the best result possible. Unlike many law offices, which offer a little of this and a little of that, at Sterling Law Offices we practice exclusively in family law with office locations throughout the metro Milwaukee area. Our team is made up of accomplished divorce lawyers, certified Collaborative Law practitioners and trained mediators all sharing information and working towards a common goal for the benefit of our clients. We also have several Wisconsin locations for your convenience. That singular focus translates into having a deep understanding of all aspects of the law along with a trusted network of professionals including guardians, court officials, appraisers, and therapists. For Immediate help with your divorce or family law issue in the city of Milwaukee or any of its surrounding suburbs, call (414) 395-8987. Most importantly, only working in one area of law means every single one of our team is passionate and dedicated individuals who understand better than most what's at stake in a family law case. Cases involving families and children are never easy, and having a group of people who genuinely understand what's at stake can make all the difference. To choose Sterling Law Offices is to choose to be informed, not left in the dark. You will be walked through and included in every major step of your case. After all, an attorney who's fighting a case without listening to their client isn't fighting for you. Our philosophy is simple: listen to our clients, understand their needs, and go through the process together. The way we see it, clients shouldn't ever feel left out of a case that will decide their future or the future of their family. Communication is paramount to our success, and involving you in the process does not mean dictating a case to you but to hear your concerns and incorporate your feedback as well. To put it simply, you shouldn't feel suspicious about the people assigned to help you; lawyers and clients should work as allies towards a common goal. This attitude of transparency extends to our pricing. Our unique, flat-rate system means you know exactly what you're paying in advance without the dread of an unexpected and devastating legal bill. We never charge hourly, so no matter how complex or drawn out your case becomes the amount you pay remains the same. The price you pay includes all communication, research, travel, and time that our attorneys spend working with you. Our goal is to be proud of our work and provide the best possible outcome for our clients, not to nickel-and-dime the people who put their trust in us. To learn more about what Sterling Law Offices in Milwaukee can do for you, schedule a consultation or get in touch with us by phone or e-mail.

Locations	No. of Attorneys
Appleton, WI	3
Arlington Heights, IL	7
Beaver Dam, WI	5
Brookfield, WI	1
Chicago, IL	3
Evanston, IL	9
Fond du Lac, WI	1
Green Bay, WI	1
Janesville, WI	1
Jefferson, WI	8
Kenosha, WI	1
Madison, WI	6
Menomonee Falls,	2
Milwaukee, WI	6
Schaumburg, IL	2
West Bend, WI	10

Practice Areas	No. of Attorneys
Family Law	27