With deep sadness our firm joins the Cleveland legal community in saying we have lost one of our great lawyers. Eli was truly a lawyer's lawyer, a mentor, friend to many in the profession. Eli's writing skills and appellate practice were extraordinary; Eli drafted more briefs to be accepted by the Ohio Supreme Court than any other lawyer in town. His 51 years of practicing law reflect a singular accomplishment and enduring legacy. All those who worked with Eli fondly recall stories of his upbringing in the Tremont neighborhood, his proud Greek heritage and his early years in the Ohio Attorney General's office. He was a walking compendium of knowledge, much of it arcane yet acutely accurate. He saw plainly what others struggled to discern; and when he put pen to paper (no computers!) he left you marveling that you ever missed it. He was the foil to many a worthy adversary. As with his writing, his mentoring style was crisp and often challenging. Eli's recollection for specifics in the Civil Rules, his phenomenal grasp, much less memory of case law and provisions in the Ohio Revised Code few even knew existed, characterized his scholarly work. He distinguished himself in the Cleveland Bar. Few who argued with Eli on fine points of law prevailed; doing so was a major accomplishment in one's career as an attorney.

From truly humble beginnings, this Greek kid graduated from Lincoln High School then obtained his undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard University. Eli's passion for life is legendary. Few of us dined with Eli in a restaurant where he didn't know the owner, waiter or bartender. We never met a Greek in Cleveland who didn't know Eli. Quite frankly, one recalls dining with him in Chicago in a Greek restaurant and sure enough, the owner knew the Manoses. Eli's interest in the theater resulted in legendary trips to Niagara-on-the-Lake and his fondness for the orchestra and theater are testimonies of his interest in the finer things in life. And he loved to sing; the wittier the verse and more exuberant the song, all the better. (Knowing every word was a testimony to his memory; carrying a tune, well that's another story.)

He was also a stellar athlete in his youth. As some know, he was a football star at Lincoln and also played at Harvard. He stayed active, enjoying downhill skiing and playing tennis throughout most of his adult life. In fact, his tennis times were so important that he rescheduled more than one pretrial to accommodate his tennis appointment. He even went so far as to advise certain judges that he had a conflicting "court" appointment that required (and typically resulted in) a rescheduled pretrial. No hypocrite, and ever the Laconic, Eli never offered more information than circumstances warranted. It was Eli's unique form of ... diplomacy.

To plagiarize a compliment paid to Oscar Wilde by George Bernard Shaw, Eli Manos was our firm's "thorough playwright." Instead of plays, he crafted pleadings to protect the interests of his clients charged with his professional care. With his wit, philosophy, drama, knowledge of the papers of Madison, Hamilton and Jefferson, his audience was the judge but the courtroom his theater. Pithy, acerbic, apt and painfully apolitical, Eli was devoted, humble, generous and vigorously humane. The feats he accomplished in life -- on the football field, the tennis court, for his family, friends, colleagues and in the relentless practice of law -- will forever distinguish him as one of the finest of Cleveland's legal community.

Mansour, Gavin, Gerlack & Manos are grateful for having known and worked with Eli all these years. He blessed us; May God Bless Eli.