For
nearly
two
decades,
leadership
at
Lowenstein
Sandler has
been
a
two-for-one
deal.
Since
2008,
Gary
Wingens
has
served
as
both
chairman
and
managing
partner
—
a
rare
stretch
of
dual
power
in
Biglaw.
That
changes
today.
The
firm
has
elected
Jonathan
Wishnia
as
its
first
new
managing
partner
in
18
years,
while
Wingens
remains
chairman.
It’s
a
significant
structural
shift
for
a
firm
that
has
grown
dramatically
under
a
unified
leadership
model,
nearly
tripling
revenue
during
Wingens’s
tenure
and
reshaping
its
practice
around
sector-focused
growth.
This
isn’t
a
firm
in
distress.
It’s
a
firm
planning
ahead.
As
Wingens
put
it
in
an
interview
with
the
American
Lawyer,
“We
are
in
a
profession
that
is
changing
faster
than
it
ever
has
before.
The
changes
are
dramatic,
the
winners
and
losers
are
pretty
dramatic.”
The
decision
grew
out
of
a
strategic
planning
process,
with
leadership
concluding
that
splitting
the
roles
would
“provide
more
bandwidth
for
leadership
and
management
of
the
firm.”
By
splitting
the
roles,
Lowenstein
joins
the
many
Am
Law
firms
that
separate
strategy
from
day-to-day
management.
Wingens
will
turn
outward
—
focusing
on
clients,
long-term
vision,
and
institutional
knowledge
—
while
Wishnia
takes
over
operations
and
builds
out
a
new
management
committee
to
spread
leadership
responsibility.
As
Wishnia
noted
about
the
transition,
“The
goal
of
the
management
committee
is
to
create
leadership
bandwidth.”
Succession
planning
is
also
clearly
part
of
the
equation.
After
18
years
in
the
dual
role,
Wingens
acknowledged
the
timing
was
deliberate:
“I’ve
been
in
this
dual
role
for
18
years,
and
while
I’m
not
slowing
down
anytime
soon,
it
makes
a
lot
of
sense
to
make
sure
we’ve
got
other
folks
in
management
who
are
well-versed
in
other
operations
of
the
firm,”
Wingens
said.
“We
are
transitioning
my
knowledge
base
and
my
institutional
memory
to
other
people
at
a
time
where
we
can
do
it
at
our
own
pace
without
external
pressure
and
without
needing
to
rush
anything.”
If
anything,
the
firm’s
leadership
restructuring
reads
less
like
course
correction
and
more
like
future-proofing
—
particularly
in
a
market
increasingly
shaped
by
AI
investment
and
consolidation
pressures.
As
Wingens
framed
the
broader
bet:
“I
know
plenty
of
shrinking
firms
and
growing
firms,
and
it’s
more
fun
to
be
the
growing
firm
than
the
shrinking
firm.”
After
nearly
20
years
of
one
person
running
both
the
boardroom
and
the
engine
room,
Lowenstein
is
opting
for
more
hands
at
the
helm
—
not
because
it
has
to,
but
because
it
wants
to
stay
ahead.
Congratulations
to
both
Jonathan
Wishnia
and
Gary
Wingens
on
their
new
roles
at
Lowenstein
Sandler!
Lowenstein
Sandler
Elects
First
New
Managing
Partner
in
18
Years
[American
Lawyer]
Staci
Zaretsky is
the
managing
editor
of
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
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2011.
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