George Medved, the lawyer who led the charge for several Philadelphia-based firms to enter the Pittsburgh market, has died.

Medved, who had been a partner in the corporate litigation group at Blank Rome since 2015, died suddenly of a heart attack Nov. 9 at the age of 65. His funeral was held Friday.

A lifelong Pittsburgher, Medved started his legal career at Pittsburgh-based Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, and later became a name partner at Pittsburgh's Doepken Keevican Weiss & Medved. But from there, he went on to help three large, Philadelphia-based law firms build a presence on the other end of the state.

In 1995, he left Doepken Keevican to join Pepper Hamilton, which was just launching its Pittsburgh office. That firm now has over 30 lawyers in Pittsburgh, according to its website.

He did the same for Duane Morris in 2003, whose Pittsburgh office is still a dozen lawyers strong, and then for Blank Rome in 2015, which now has 18 lawyers in Pittsburgh.

“It says a great deal about him that three firms as they entered the market found him to be their foundation and building block in the Pittsburgh market,” said James Barnes, the administrative partner of Blank Rome's office there. He was “viewed among the best that we have to offer in the market,” Barnes said.

Through his “prolific” law firm attachments, Medved met many lawyers in the Pittsburgh market, said Maura McAnney, a legal recruiter in the city who worked with Medved in recruiting for all three of the offices he helped launch. The two met in 1985 when she was a law student, and he recruited her to Pittsburgh to work for Eckert Seamans.

“We kept in touch because he was like that. He was really good to people and he nurtured the careers of people,” McAnney said. “He was always the quintessential professional in giving people opportunities.”

Barnes said Medved was also highly regarded as a construction litigator who “saw arguments and strategies not seen by others,” and was a mentor to many he worked with.

“It's a loss to the legal community,” McAnney said. “It's a rare lawyer that loves the law as much as George did.”

Medved is survived by his wife, Lois; two stepsons; and three grandchildren.