June 22, 2020
Charleston Attorney Jonathan Mani Named WVAJ President
Charleston, West Virginia – Jonathan Mani has been named president of the West Virginia Association for Justice. He is a partner with the Charleston firm of Mani, Ellis and Layne. His primary practice areas are nursing home neglect and abuse, medical malpractice and catastrophic injury.
“It is an honor to serve as president of the West Virginia Association for Justice. It means a lot that our members and my colleagues have placed their trust in me to represent their interests and guide their organization over the next year,” said Mani.
An important aspect of that work will be leading the association’s ongoing work to preserve access to our civil justice system and trial by jury.
“Our right to trial by jury is one of the most important constitutional rights we have as Americans. It is only in our courtrooms that every West Virginian is equal to the most powerful and wealthy individuals and corporations. The rich and powerful want to restrict access to our courts because they don’t want to be held accountable when they cheat or harm consumers, workers and small business owners. That’s wrong,” Mani said.
“John Adams wrote that ‘representative government and trial by jury are the heart and lungs of liberty.’ We must work together to protect our constitutional rights and access to our civil justice system. Our 7th Amendment rights are just as important as our 1st and 2nd Amendment rights,” Mani said.
Mani also wants to collaborate with the full West Virginia Bar to improve the state’s courts and public perception of the legal community.
“Lawyers and judges need to come together to share information and ideas so that we can make the practice of law better in our state. Attorneys are representing different people and different interests, but we’re doing the same job. Our profession is under attack. Working together we can not only find ways we can do our jobs better, but also improve our courts, increase access to justice and improve public opinion of lawyers,” said Mani.
Raised in Charleston, Mani earned a degree in accounting from West Virginia University and earned his J. D. from the WVU College of Law. He began his legal career as a medical-malpractice defense attorney with a Charleston firm, but it became apparent to Mani that he wanted to represent the people of West Virginia instead of big insurance and out-of-state corporations. He joined friend and colleague Damon Ellis at a Charleston plaintiffs’ practice.
“I still remember the names of some of those first clients I represented. They needed help, and I was able to assist them. You know you’re making a real difference, and there’s something very gratifying about that.”
Mani and Ellis left the firm and opened their own practice in 2004. It expanded to Mani, Ellis and Layne in 2007 with the addition of third partner Bernie Layne. Layne is a past president of WVAJ.
Jon is married to Erica Mani, CEO of the American Red Cross West Virginia Region. They have two children, Xander, 13, and Eliza, 9.
WVAJ AFFINITY PARTNERS
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