Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani continues its strong 2026 hiring momentum with the addition of five lateral partners, Douglass Klaber Jr., Karen L. Mergenthaler, Diana O’Connell, Nikolas Tysiak, and Suzanne Yurk, in its Pittsburgh and Philadelphia offices. Their extensive experience and diverse practice areas strengthen the firm’s capabilities in the Northeast and nationwide.
“Welcoming these partners across a broad range of practices reflects both the opportunities we see in the Northeast and the value attorneys place on GRSM’s collaborative culture and national platform,” said Manoj Jegasothy, Firmwide Deputy Managing Partner and former Managing Partner of the firm’s Pittsburgh office. “Given that Doug was already a friend, many of our lawyers have been aware of his expertise for years (and given that his father was a mentor to many of us too) which makes this not only seamless, but also emblematic of many of our GRSM lateral partner hires.”
With respect to the group as a whole, Jegasothy commented, “As you can see by their various practice areas, from diverse litigation to the oil and gas industry, each attorney strengthens our ability to serve clients throughout the region and across the country while continuing to expand our flourishing Pennsylvania offices.”
Klaber Jr. focuses his practice on commercial litigation, transportation law, civil litigation, insurance coverage litigation, products liability, and premises liability. He has extensive experience handling complex litigation matters and has been invited to lecture on subjects including insurance coverage litigation, automobile litigation, and civil litigation. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Mergenthaler’s practice focuses primarily on transportation litigation in the defense of wrongful death and serious personal injury lawsuits and claims. She has litigated numerous matters from inception through trial and appeal for insurers and has served as defense counsel for large insurance carriers with automotive, trucking, premise, and personal liability policies. Her 25 years of experience also includes the defense of physicians, nurses, physical therapists, and personal care aides in medical malpractice cases throughout Pennsylvania, as well as the defense of attorneys and law firms in legal malpractice actions. She is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Pennsylvania.
O’Connell focuses her practice on insurance defense and commercial litigation. She represents clients in insurance coverage and extracontractual litigation at the trial and appellate levels. She is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Pennsylvania.
Tysiak practices in the areas of energy and real estate law, with a primary focus on transactions and ownership involving oil and gas, where he has extensive experience identifying and curing novel real estate title issues. He is admitted to practice in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Texas.
Yurk focuses her practice on healthcare litigation and civil defense, drawing on more than 23 years of experience handling complex healthcare disputes and enforcement matters. She is admitted to practice in California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of California, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Pennsylvania, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third, Fourth, and Ninth Circuits.
Learn more about GRSM’s offices nationwide and the exciting opportunities in the Northeast and across the firm’s 50-state platform.
