Michael Joe Silva wasn’t sure he’d ever put his acting and scriptwriting skills to the use after high school and college. A theatre student at his hometown Hilmar High School and at Brigham Young University, Silva left the stage to pursue a career in law.
Nevertheless, almost a decade after founding Silva Injury Law in Turlock, Silva and his team are now among the best on the internet when it comes to video and film.
Silva Studios, a branch of the personal injury law firm and an affiliate of FOXFORCE Media, is up for a Webby — an internet award that Silva compares to the Oscars — for its viral marketing skits that have been released regularly since 2023. The firm’s YouTube channel is nominated in the Scripted Video and Film category, facing off against the likes of Jimmy Kimmel and Keke Palmer.
“It is so crazy to think that a law firm based out of Turlock has created a full-fledged media company and are in the same category as some of the biggest studios and personalities on the internet,” Silva said. “I never expected these videos to blow up and go as viral as some of them have. When we started making these, it was all about having fun.”
Hailed as the “internet’s highest honor” by The New York Times since being established in 1996, The Webby Awards is the leading international awards organization honoring excellence on the internet, including video, websites, apps, social, podcasts and more.
As a nominee, Silva Injury Law is eligible for the Webby People’s Voice Award — which is decided by public vote that is open now through April 16 at https://wbby.co/57602N. Winners will be announced April 21 and honored at the Webby Awards ceremony in New York City.
Silva Injury Law was chosen as one of the five finalists out of more than 13,000 entries from over 70 countries.
The others up for nomination against Silva Injury Law are The Rabbit Hole with Jimmy Kimmel (ABC), Keke Palmer’s Dread Manor (KeyTV Network), The Ick (American Picture Company) and Paper Cuts (KO Distribution).
The “Silva Studios | Silva Injury Law” YouTube channel (youtube.com/@silvainjurylaw) has racked up over 29 million views on its 266 videos, and recently surpassed 300,000 subscribers.
Many of the videos are parodies of popular movies and television shows, such as The Office, Duck Dynasty, Harry Potter, Frankenstein and Beetlejuice. A mini-series on the channel, Thunderclap, is inspired by Silva’s love of old-school professional wrestling.
“I remember talking to two attorneys at my law firm in 2023 who are huge fans of The Office,” Silva said. “We just came up with the idea to make a parody of the show for Halloween. We thought ‘Let's get a crew together, I'll write the quick script, and we'll shoot it and see what comes of it. It should be fun, right?’ We finished it, put it out and people responded to it like I never would have imagined.”
That first video, titled “Halloween Thrills at Silva Injury Law” has amassed over 1.7 million views alone as of April 10.
“I really didn’t do much acting in those years between graduating college and starting the law firm,” Silva said. “I tried my hand at it again and had to shake off some rust, and now these videos have become such a huge part of our marketing and getting our name out there.”
Silva Injury Law has promoted the YouTube channel and its skits on social media platforms and frequently with highway billboards.
“We have people in our comment section telling us that they saw our billboards and were curious, and that they were so happy they found the channel,” Silva said. “Just a few weeks ago we took on a case from a client who found us through the videos.”
Recent internet analytics have also proven the marketing success of the video, Silva explained.
“We started noticing how people were searching for us and finding us because we get reports every month. Some of the top keyword searches had variations of our name and the skits, such as ‘Thunderclap lawyer.’ That's how people are finding us and getting to know us. That’s when I decided I'm like, this is working. I'm going to invest a little heavily more in it.”
The studio has grown immensely over time not just in terms of views and subscribers, but in the size of the production team. Silva estimates that there were about 80 people involved in the making of their most recent skits, which include “Undercover Boss.”
The law firm has grown, as well. Silva Injury Law now operates out of 18 locations across California, including in Turlock and Hilmar. In fact, it was the Hilmar office in which the popular Thunderclap series began.
Channeling the pro wrestlers of yesteryear, such as his idols Bruiser Brody and Superstar Billy Graham, Silva portrays Thunderclap, a wrestling sensation who navigates legal battles and assists other injury victims.
“I’ve always tried to not follow the norm,” Silva said. “I was offered the advice as a pre-law student to always do something you love, because that matters more than doing something you think is important. Our work as a law firm is super important, but law firms aren't always affiliated with ‘good guys’ and many have bad reputations. For some places that it absolutely warranted. With these videos, we give the public a look behind the scenes of who we really are as people.
“I think the big fun thing for us is providing moments of joy. My hope is that, if nothing else, fellow business owners in our community get that spark to not be scared, to push themselves out of their comfort zones and just go for it. Swing. Take your chance. You never know, you might end up being nominated for a Webby.”
