More than 50 years after its founding in San Francisco in 1974, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani (GRSM) is preparing for another defining moment in its evolution. Effective June 7, Firmwide Managing Partner Dion Cominos officially transitioned leadership of GRSM to Adam Sugarman, marking the next chapter for a law firm that has grown from a regional litigation practice into the first and only full-service law firm with attorneys and offices in all 50 states. As a firm built across generations of leadership, strategic expansion, and a long-term vision for what a national law firm could become, the transition reflects both continuity and evolution.
Founded by Stu Gordon and Don Rees in San Francisco more than five decades ago, the firm’s meteoric growth has been shaped by a succession of leaders who each helped expand its reach, strengthen its culture, and position GRSM for long-term success.
“When Don Rees and I founded our law firm in 1974, our approach was simple. Deliver outstanding legal services in an environment of mutual respect, camaraderie and collegiality,” said founding partner Stu Gordon.
Following Gordon’s tenure as the firm’s first managing partner, Mike Lucey helped guide the firm through its next phase of growth and development as managing partner from 1997-2006, laying important groundwork for the firm’s continued expansion.
“As a lifelong Gordon & Rees attorney, I was extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to guide the firm into its second generation of leadership and see us expand outside of San Francisco, throughout the state of California and beyond,” said former managing partner Mike Lucey, whom Cominos succeeded as Managing Partner in 2006.
Thereafter, a period of rapid expansion followed. A pivotal moment in that national expansion came when Mercedes Colwin opened the firm’s first East Coast office in New York in 2005, helping establish the foundation for what would eventually become GRSM’s national platform. “Being asked to lead the firm’s expansion on the east coast was by far the most amazing and rewarding endeavor of my professional career and I have been so honored and grateful to be a part of our national growth story and success,” said New York office founding partner Mercedes Colwin.
The firm achieved its goal of having offices and attorneys in all 50 states several years later, architected primarily by named partner Miles Scully, who noted, “the realization of GRSM’s 50-state platform in 2019 was revolutionary as we became the first and only law firm in the history of our profession to have offices and attorneys in all 50 states, allowing clients 24/7 access to our services wherever and whenever they needed us.”
Named partner Roger Mansukhani added, “seeing how the firm’s growth has literally exploded over the past two decades, it’s been extremely exciting to be a part of our amazing expansion, and I know we are just getting started on the road to even greater success.” (The firm renamed as Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani in 2014 to recognize the significant contributions of named partners Miles Scully and Roger Mansukhani as being major catalysts in the firm’s rapid expansion.)
Under Cominos’ 20-year leadership tenure, the firm increased exponentially, with more than ten-fold increases seen in revenue (from roughly $100 million to over $1 billion), offices (from 8 to 87), and attorneys (from fewer than 200 to over 2,000), while ascending the hierarchy of the AmLaw rankings to become the 11th largest law firm in the United States. Remarkably, GRSM accomplished all of these many growth milestones without incurring any debt, undertaking any large-scale mergers, or witnessing the departure of any key partners/groups.
While the numbers are significant, GRSM’s growth story has always been about something larger: building an institution designed to endure and thrive. As Cominos recognized, “one of our hallmarks at the firm has always been to remain forward thinking and focused on the future in that we are constantly expanding our horizons, creating new business innovations, and paving the way for successive generations to achieve at the highest levels in the industry.”
Over the course of Cominos’ leadership, GRSM navigated some of the most transformative and disruptive periods in modern business history, including the financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the accelerating impact of artificial intelligence and technology on the legal industry. Throughout those two decades, the firm continued investing heavily in operational modernization, technology integration, cross-office collaborations, and a scalable infrastructure capable of supporting one of the fastest-growing legal platforms in the country.
Over the past year, Cominos has led a deliberate transition process working closely with Sugarman and other firm leaders, designed to position GRSM for long-term continuity, stability and success. As Cominos returns to a full-time law practice, he leaves behind a strong legacy of growth, collaboration and collective achievement that is well-positioned to empower future generations of leadership.
“It’s been quite an amazing journey,” summarized Cominos, “and I have the utmost confidence that Adam and the other highly talented individuals on the leadership team will propel GRSM to even greater heights in the years ahead.”
For Sugarman, who now steps into the Firmwide Managing Partner role, the transition represents both a continuation of the firm’s solid traditions, and an opportunity to further strengthen the culture and connectivity that have fueled its overwhelming success.
“Dion helped build the greatest legal platform in history,” Sugarman said. “My role is to take that work, bring all of these new parts together, strengthen the bonds between our people, and help propel the firm to even loftier accomplishments.”
While GRSM’s national platform has become one of its defining differentiators, Sugarman believes the firm’s future competitive advantage will increasingly center on culture. “We are only as good as the caliber of our people and, more importantly, the bonds between our people,” Sugarman said.
Drawing from a team-oriented leadership philosophy, Sugarman says GRSM’s future will continue to focus on building a “winning culture” rooted in accountability, trust, transparency, positivity, and collaboration. “A law partnership has many similarities to a team,” Sugarman said. “The goal is to become greater than the sum of our parts.”
The firm’s next chapter will also include continued strategic expansion, particularly in high-growth secondary markets, along with ongoing investment in innovation and technologies shaping the future of the legal industry. “It’s beyond humbling to lead this great firm into the future and build on a 52-year legacy of excellence in lawyering, innovation, and being part of something much larger than ourselves,” said Sugarman.
More than five decades after its founding, GRSM’s story continues to evolve, built on the same entrepreneurial spirit, long-term vision, and culture of collaboration that have defined the firm since 1974.
Media Coverage
The Recorder also covered this story in an article, “‘Adam Sugarman Takes the Helm as Firmwide Managing Partner at Gordon Rees.” Subscription may be required.