Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Pittsburgh Office Managing Partner Manoj Jegasothy was featured on the front page of the January 16, 2018 Pittsburgh Business Times along with a full page article as part of its "Personalities of Pittsburgh" series. In a Q & A format, Jegasothy spoke with reporter Patti Tascarella about his professional path, strategies and personal influences that have contributed to his success and current role with the firm.
The article establishes Jegasothy's significance within the firm in the introduction, describing the rapid growth of the Pittsburgh office and the various roles Jegasothy has taken on in recent years.
When asked how he ended up leaving his prior firm to join Gordon & Rees, Jegasothy shared: "I was in pretty serious talks about managing some other satellite offices in Pittsburgh and then I happened to meet some Gordon & Rees guys in a bar in Las Vegas and started talking to them. I told them I was interested in starting an office or running one, and they said, “You should talk to us.” Within a very short amount of time, I did. I was attracted to the geographic footprint, national footprint and the rate structure — we have a much more flexible rate structure than a lot of large firms because of our ability to handle the business. But the biggest thing was the entrepreneurial nature at Gordon Rees. They were willing to invest in a region where they’d never been and in a guy named Manoj who they didn’t know."
Jegasothy passionately spoke about the value of talking with people as the best way to recruit great lawyers: "I really believe in the product I’m selling, which is the law firm. My experiences have been so good. The other thing is I love our city and know a lot of people in our city and like to meet them and talk to them. It’s the best method of recruiting. And it’s not necessarily a recruitment, usually it’s a merger. These are really great lawyers with books of business, and it has to be a conversation. It’s not a pure pitch."
He also revealed his vision of where he wants to take the Pittsburgh office: "It’s funny, we had over 80 RSVPs for our Christmas party (in 2017), and I remember the first one where there were eight of us sitting around at a bar. I never thought we’d be (this size) five years ago. But I don’t want to put any numbers or labels or constraints on us. We’ll do whatever financially makes sense with people we like who have good clients, are good lawyers and good people."
Through the remainder of the article Jegasothy offers insight on time management and who and what influenced him to become a lawyer. The article wraps up with Jegasothy sharing some of his personal interests such as what job he would do if he could switch jobs for a day and what he hasn't accomplished personally. (Hint: Jegasothy is an avid foodie and loves to travel.)
To learn more about Jegasothy, please click here to read the article in full.
In addition to Jegasothy's role of Managing Partner, he is East Coast Chair of the firm's Commercial Litigation Practice Group, a member of several other litigation related sections, and a member of the firm's Executive Committee. He maintains a diverse practice and has extensive experience in commercial business and corporate litigation, class action and civil litigation, health care law and litigation, construction litigation, intellectual property and trade secret litigation, employment litigation, creditors' rights, toxic torts and insurance coverage disputes.
Gordon & Rees is a national litigation and business transactions firm with more than 800 lawyers in 47 offices across the United States. Our lawyers provide full service representation to public and private companies ranging from the Fortune 500 to start-ups. Founded in 1974, Gordon & Rees is recognized among the fastest growing and largest law firms in the country and continues to climb the ranks of both the Am Law 200 and The National Law Journal. Additionally, in 2017 Law360 ranked the firm among the top 50 largest U.S. firms and The American Lawyer ranked the firm among the top 35 on its Diversity Scorecard.