Sanjay Agrawal is senior counsel in Tressler's Litigation Practice Group in our St. Louis Metro Area and Chicago, Illinois offices. He focuses his practice on various general defense litigation matters. Sanjay has effectively litigated cases in Missouri as well as in various federal and appellate courts. He is an experienced attorney with over 20 years of legal experience in litigation, appeals, licensing, commercial transactions, due diligence, client counseling, patentability, freedom to operate, cross-border transactions, M&A and technology commercialization.
Sanjay received his J.D. from St. Louis University School of Law, his M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis and M.S. in Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas-Austin.
Where are you from?
I was born in India. I moved to the United States at the age of 2, then relocated to the United Kingdom at age 7. I have been living in St. Louis, MO ever since I was 10 years old. Go Cardinals!
What was your first job?
My first job was working in the Department of Cardiology for the St. Louis Children’s Hospital at Washington University Medical School. It was a lot of fun. I took EKGs, performed doppler and echocardiogram exams and helped conduct cardiac measurements of teenage athletes with hypertension.
Do you have any hidden talents and/or unique hobbies?
I love to travel and have taken road trips to 43 states; plus I have been to four Hawaiian islands and Puerto Rico.
What is on your bucket list?
I have been to 33 countries, but never to Antarctica. I was once in New Zealand – so close, yet so far!
Sanjay at Lake Wakatipu, New Zealand.
Sanjay fishing in New Zealand.
Why did you decide to become an attorney?
I began my career as a public defender, and on the first day I walked into a courtroom, it felt like the first time I walked into a surgical theater. It felt like home.
What do you like most about Tressler?
Tressler has a very welcoming and nurturing environment and a national reputation. The firm provides opportunities to gain experience in other practice areas like government, HOA and transportation law, which is exciting to me. There are many challenging and interesting legal topics to learn about and work on at Tressler.
What are you most proud of, professionally and/or personally?
I am very proud of my two teenage boys. They have a passion for classical music and play in various orchestras; one plays the violin and the other plays the viola.
Sanjay and his teenage boys.
Sanjay and his dog.
Why do you take pride in being an attorney?
When I was a public defender, the prosecutors didn’t like me because I would take cases to trial and win. But I think it was more luck and preparation than anything else. What I learned as a public defender has guided me through my legal career: my job as an attorney is to advocate for the rights of my clients and to be their voice. A strong voice, so their story can be heard.
I was in court one day and the Judge called this gentleman to approach. My first thought was that this man is homeless given his long, disheveled hair; his long, mangled beard, his torn dirty clothes; his body odor; and he reeked of alcohol. He must have been in his forties with slurred speech, and I was appointed to represent him. The Judge had known the man his entire life and told me that he was difficult, obstinate and wished me good luck.
I arranged with the Court for this gentleman to be placed in a facility three hours away for four months. This would prevent him from being incarcerated and get him the help he needed. I contacted his family and social workers to get everyone on board with this plan. At the facility, he was given daily meals, fresh clothes and glasses; and he started to learn to read and write.
When the gentleman returned to Court three months later, the Judge didn’t recognize him. The Judge came off the bench, shook my hand and told me that he didn’t think it was possible to accomplish what I had done for this gentleman. These precious moments of helping people’s lives for the better make me proud to be an attorney.
Sanjay Agrawal can be reached at sagrawal@tresslerllp.com. Learn more about our attorneys by visiting www.tresslerllp.com/attorneys.
