Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani: 50 State Strategi
The shiny new offices of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP in downtown Raleigh are pristine. There is not a single coffee stain or scuff anywhere. To accommodate its growth, the firm moved into these new offices in the fall. It grew from 4 full-time lawyers to 15 in just over a year.
GRSM, based in San Francisco, is the 20th-largest law firm in the United States. It has 1,200 attorneys in 77 offices across 50 practice areas and industry groups.
The Raleigh office is a full-service healthcare suite, handling commercial litigation, insurance defense and construction law matters. GRSM also works with hospitals, managed care organisations, licensed professionals, insurers, employees, hospitals and other healthcare providers on litigation, mergers and transactions, employment laws, regulatory and compliance rules, and more. The firm represents cutting-edge medical care providers in fields such as telemedicine and ambulatory surgery centers.
The topic of post-COVID claims is a popular one for clients. The number of claims has increased for healthcare providers and facilities as well as managed services organizations and staffing firms who were struggling to maintain staffing levels because of the pandemic. Healthcare providers were forced to find alternative staffing options.
When you use temporary staff or traveling nurses, it is sometimes difficult to determine who the employer is. Allison Becker, managing director of the Raleigh office, explained that an employee may have more than one employer in the context of a claim for employment.
We aim to be serious, zealous and aggressive in our service of clients. We want to create a workplace where people enjoy working.
All 50 States are Exceptional
In 2019, GRSM was the only law firm with offices in 50 states in the United States. The firm’s clients in the healthcare industry are often multi-state businesses, either headquartered in North Carolina or based elsewhere but with North Carolina locations.
Becker said, “With GRSM’s offices in all 50 states, clients can benefit from a single firm that provides a consistent service across their litigation and business transactions.” Each local office is familiar with the courts and the jury pool in the area, as well as the local laws and regulations. “It’s baked into the platform for 50 states.”
A client with a presence in more than one state doesn’t need to hire a new law firm each time there is an issue in a different state. In products liability cases the ability to know the product, its processes, and its instructions can be key in providing a strong defense. Justin Puleo, a partner at the firm, said that it’s useful to provide a one-stop shop for clients of this type.
Becker explained that “what we do is hub and spoke.” “I have a client who operates across 37 states. I will be the main contact for the client and I will coordinate with my partners to act as local counsel where needed. We always draw from the same client database. It’s built-in efficiency.”
Puleo said that sometimes clients will trust an attorney they attended high school with, and they know him or her as if he or she were their brother. “We don’t have to replace them. We can add value to them. We can also help the client expand into other states. We can help existing law firms maintain and grow their clientele.
Life Outside Work
GRSM’s new offices in downtown Raleigh at 150 Fayetteville St. bring an implied pedigree, a 24/7 expectation and… “to be a good attorney, you need to also be a well rounded person. Our lawyers are expected to deliver exceptional service to clients, meet deadlines and be responsive. Becker clarified that this does not mean all lawyers are on call 24 hours a day.
Megan Stacy, Megan’s partner, said: “I have two children at home. One is four years old and the other five.” “I can still get to my child’s trick or treat at the daycare. I can attend a kindergarten field day. We are hard workers and get the job done, but also have flexibility to live a life away from work.
You can invest in yourself
Becker says that some large law offices have attrition of associates built into their business model. Becker said, “We don’t.” We’ve just recently set up some OCI (on-campus interviews) programs with several law schools. We tell candidates that our culture is one of investing in them and hoping they will invest in us. We don’t assume that people who come here will pay back their loans in two years.
Becker explained to this end that GRSM values its culture. “We are serious, zealous and aggressive in our approach to clients. We want to create a workplace where people enjoy working. This has been the main driver of our expansion.”
Stacy said, “If I could pick one word to describe the culture of this company, it would be collaborative.” It makes people feel that they aren’t on their own. They don’t have to learn things by themselves.
Attorneys in the firm may be spread out across offices, but they work together as a team to offer a single resource for clients. Becker said that there is real collaboration and a sharing business. There is a real buy-in for the idea that rising tides lift all boats and that we will all be more successful if we share resources and information.
The diversity of Juries
GRSM is ranked among the top 65 AmLaw 100 law firms in terms of diversity and the top 15 in terms of female attorneys. Managing partners such as Becker who are female are still unicorns in many large firms. But not at GRSM. 75% of the office leadership is female.
“We have many women and diverse lawyers in leadership positions across the country. We believe that a diverse team will allow us to provide better service for our clients. The jury is diverse. Our employees are diverse. Our clients are also diverse. Becker said, “I think we can offer the best service by being diverse.”
Smart Growth
As the firm adds more attorneys and staff, it won’t take long for its new offices to get scuffs and coffee stains. The firm has hired associates to help support its expanding practice areas. Becker stated that the firm was also open to adding new practice groups. “I find that attractive from a general perspective, just to ensure that we have enough people in place to serve our clients in that area. But I think that the most important thing is that we retain that culture. We don’t want to work with a group who wants to operate as a silo.
Growth at GRSM is not just about geographic expansion, but also about fostering connections within the practice groups. GRSM, for example, formalized a practice group in artificial intelligence this year that serves clients from various industries, including technology, finance and healthcare, insurance, advertising and entertainment, e-commerce, and entertainment. GRSM has also established a practice group for education law and is seeking to expand its national bench.
The firm’s philosophy is to grow intelligently, not just for the sake of growth. We are looking at specific practice fields and people and growing where it makes sense to our team and firm’s customers as a group.
A Glance
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Llp
150 Fayetteville St, Suite 1120
Raleigh, NC 27601
919-787-4555
www.grsm.com
www.grsm.com
RALEIGH PRACTICE AREA
- Healthcare
- Employment
- Professional Liability Defense
- Commercial Litigation
- Insurance/Coverage
- Product & General Liability
- Construction
- Appellate
- Trucking & Transportation
- Regulatory Compliance
- Contracts & Business Transactions
- Supported by attorneys in virtually every practice area
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