Joel Silverman was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. He moved to Missoula in 1992 and received his B.A. in Mathematics and B.S. in Forestry from the University of Montana in 1997. He received his law degree from Lewis and Clark College in 2003 and an LL.M. (master’s degree) in Taxation from the University of Washington in 2004. Joel’s business career began in high school, when he started his own fly tying company and taught fly tying and fly-fishing classes. His fly-fishing business continued through college and law school. During college, Joel took 10th place in a world fly-tying competition. He continued to use his business skills after graduating from college, by helping fly-fishing lodges, around the world, to improve their businesses through marketing and improved business techniques. After law school, Joel spent his first three years of private practice in Butte, Montana, assisting clients with business matters, entity formation, tax planning for businesses and individuals, Wills, Trusts, elder law, property transactions, and liquor and gambling issues. Joel moved to Helena, Montana, in 2006, after joining the Montana Department of Revenue as an attorney. His nearly six years at the Department of Revenue were spent working on legislation, liquor, and gambling matters, and litigating various federal and state tax law issues (collections, income tax, coal and gas severance tax, property tax, and telecommunications taxes). Silverman Law Office, PLLC was opened in May of 2012, when Joel recognized that there was a large need for a business and estate planning law office, that did more than just repeat the law to the client. Joel realized individuals and businesses need lawyers that focus on the client’s goals and needs, rather than just the clients’ legal issues. Joel’s practice focuses on assisting individuals and businesses with business law, tax, succession planning, employment issues, mergers and acquisitions, wills, trusts, property transactions, liquor and gambling law, and oil and natural gas law. Additionally, Joel has been coaching and consulting various businesses to deal with the new world of marketing and business practices. Joel enjoys playing soccer, spending time outdoors, working with veterans through Montana Mending Waters, serving on boards for the Montana Business Assistance Connection and the Helena College Foundation, and spending time with his wife, Andrea Silverman, skiing, hiking, and fly-fishing.