Lowenstein Overhauls Leadership Structure, Adds Managing Partner

Lowenstein Sandler is dividing firm leadership among two longtime partners and adding a management committee as the firm looks to make good on an ambitious hiring plan.

Jonathan Wishnia has been elected as the firm’s next managing partner, the firm announced on Friday. Gary Wingens, who has served as both Lowenstein’s chair and managing partner since 2008, will continue on in the chair role.

“We have a lot of work to do at a moment where the industry is changing incredibly quickly,” Wingens, who will focus on governance and strategy, said in an interview. “What we found is that you need more than one person at the helm to be focused on the work that we need to do every day to execute on the plan.”

Lowenstein aims to grow to as many as 700 lawyers over the next four years, more than double the total when the firm publicly announced the plan a year ago. The firm now has more than 400 lawyers, up 20% over the year. The hires will deepen Lowenstein’s focus on private investment funds, tech, life sciences, litigation, and bankruptcy, according to its leaders.

Wishnia will focus on operations and execution, working alongside Wingens and Chief Operating Officer Michael Caplan. Lowenstein in March 2024 brought on Caplan, the veteran chief operating officer for Goodwin LLP, to help focus on the business-services side of the house.

“As we looked forward over the last couple of years to how the firm should be led, what became really clear was we had a real opportunity with what we were doing in terms of strategic planning to build out a team that was more consistent with the way the best-run Am Law 100 firms are structured,” Wishnia said.

The longtime Lowenstein partner serves as co-chair of the firm’s mortgage banking and structured finance practice. He also is a member of the firm’s executive board and helped craft its strategic plan.

Wishnia ran unopposed for the new managing partner role in a partner vote that took place on February 12 and immediately stepped into the role, according to the firm. He will retain some of his practice while overseeing the firm’s day-to-day operations, talent strategy, and execution of its strategic objectives.

He will also oversee its newly-formed management committee, which will be assembled by mid-March. Members will be appointed by Lowenstein’s executive board, which is the firm’s primary governance group. The management committee will support the firm’s strategic initiatives, Wingens said.

“When you’ve got these landmarks that have driven the success of how we work with clients and how we service clients, and you know that they continue to work,” Wishnia said, “it really brings a lot of excitement to how you see the implementation of strategic planning coming to fruition.”

Lowenstein brought in over $523 million in revenue last year, an increase of more than 18% from 2024. It’s partner profits also jumped to $3.75 million, up 20% from the year prior.