Listen to this article

As Lowenstein Sandler marks the 15th anniversary of its pro bono program, the Roseland-based law firm is taking stock of the work it has done over the years. Long considered the top firm in New Jersey for pro bono work, it has gained increasing recognition since doubling down on its commitment to community with the 2009 launch of the Lowenstein Center for the Public Interest.

Through the center, Lowenstein aims to address significant social problems and provide meaningful assistance to low-income and other marginalized people, along with the organizations that advocate for and support them.

The work engages a full range of the firm’s talents and reflects its core value of performing work of the highest quality in a way that maximizes results for clients and causes.

In its latest pro bono report, the center recaps key matters it handled in 2023, as well as some significant cases from the past 15 years.

In 2023, Lowenstein Sandler‘s pro bono efforts included serving more than 700 clients and dedicating more than 30,000 hours to such work. On average, each lawyer spent 83 hours on pro bono matters, focusing on areas like immigration, civil rights, access to justice and housing.

Highlights of Lowenstein’s pro bono work over the past year include improving the terms of a settlement that will restrict forced family separation at the U.S.-Mexico border for eight years and seeking compensation for formerly separated families. The firm also challenged Florida’s ban on gender-affirming health care for transgender youth and restrictions on such care for adults; supported innovators in Africa who leverage technology to promote food and water security, a healthy environment, education access and workers’ rights; partnered with law schools at Howard University, Brigham Young University, University of Utah, Notre Dame and New York University to prepare the next generation of lawyers so they can apply their skills to expand access to justice for historically underserved groups; and assisted the New Jersey Innocence Project at Rutgers University in identifying individuals wrongly convicted of crimes and may have strong claims for exoneration.

When the firm was founded in 1961 by Alan Lowenstein and Dick Sandler, the original partnership agreement stipulated that one of the firm’s fundamental principles was a commitment to community. In the decades that followed, Lowenstein Sandler reinforced that mission by dedicating hundreds of thousands of pro bono hours on matters like challenging racial profiling and spurring child welfare reform.

In 2009, the firm decided to expand on its promise to advance the public interest and serve communities in need by creating the Lowenstein Center for the Public Interest. In addition to directing Lowenstein’s pro bono program, the center also oversees other forms of civic and philanthropic engagement.

Since then, the firm has dedicated 343,182 hours to pro bono work as it addresses significant social problems and provides assistance to low-income and other marginalized people. It has also received awards and recognition from numerous organizations, including Bloomberg Law, Essex County Bar Association, Volunteer Lawyers For Justice, New Jersey Institute For Social Justice, The Legal Aid Society, Lawyers Alliance For New York, New Jersey State Bar Association, United States Patent & Trademark Office, Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, Thurgood Marshall Fund, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern New Jersey, New Jersey Business & Industry Association and League of Women Voters of New Jersey.

Signature projects

Lowenstein works in partnership with dozens of organizations across the U.S. to represent various groups in need, such as:

• Unaccompanied immigrant children who are facing deportation and seeking safe placement in the care of a responsible adult;
• Asylum seekers who fled persecution in their home countries to seek safety in the United States;
• Tenants facing issues including imminent eviction and dangerous housing conditions;
• Survivors of domestic violence seeking orders of protection to keep their abusers away from them, custody orders to keep their children with them and orders of support to give them the financial means to remain independent;
• Low-income adults looking to become the legal guardians or conservators of children or adults with cognitive disabilities;
• Veterans seeking benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for service-related injuries and disabilities;
• Low-income individuals seeking bankruptcy relief from unstainable debts;
• Low-income transgender people who want to change their legal names;
• Low-income entrepreneurs starting small businesses that serve as anchors and create jobs in under-resourced communities;
• Low-income inventors seeking patent protection for inventions.

The scope of work also includes providing corporate legal assistance and advice to nonprofit organizations that sustain and enrich local communities. Additionally, it offers help to health care providers, tenants, small business, nonprofits, artists and others most directly affected by the pandemic.

To read more about Lowenstein’s pro bono work, visit lowensteinprobonoreport.com/2023.

Leadership changes

Alongside the release of its latest pro bono report, Lowenstein announced a leadership transition at its Center for the Public Interest. Later this month, longtime chair Catherine Weiss is set to retire, paving the way for new partners Natalie Kraner and Alexander Shalom to take the helm.

Under the direction of Weiss – who held the position for nearly 12 years – the center expanded on the firm’s dedication to public service by building an award-winning program serving hundreds of low-income individuals and the nonprofits that support them.

“It has been an honor to lead the Lowenstein Center for the Public Interest in its ongoing commitment to serving underrepresented populations. We have made progress – but so much work remains to be done. These are struggles, not of lifetimes, but of generations,” stated Weiss, who will remain of counsel at Lowenstein and continue to handle some pro bono matters and projects.

“I have been lucky to work alongside Natalie, the amazing center staff, and scores of other Lowenstein colleagues. And our partners in the public interest legal community, including Alex, have made us better lawyers and advocates. I know they are all more than ready to move the center forward,” she said.

Gary Wingens, chair and managing partner of the firm, praised Weiss “for her tireless work over more than a decade on many significant issues of social justice.”

“Her achievements have had an indelible, positive impact on hundreds of individuals, as well as the legal system itself,” he added.

Shalom will join Lowenstein in June and succeed Weiss as chair of the center. Shalom is coming from the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, where has spent over 13 years focused on litigating cases on issues that disproportionately impact people of color.

As senior supervising attorney and director of Supreme Court advocacy for the civil rights organization, Shalom has extensive experience in trial and appellate courts, advancing accountability in police practices, improvements in the criminal justice and youth justice systems, expanding voting rights and pushing for fairer treatment of immigrants.

Commenting on his new role, Shalom said, “Catherine has set an amazing example in giving voice to those who have been silenced and representing those without the resources or ability to fight powerful interests.”

“I am humbled to be asked to perpetuate and advance the mission she led … and I look forward to working with Natalie Kraner, with whom I’ve collaborated on countless projects, as well as the many committed lawyers at the firm who contribute their time to people and communities in need,” he stated.

Kraner, who has been practicing at Lowenstein for more than 17 years, will become legal director of the center.

She brings a background in complex and appellate litigation aimed at achieving widespread law reform for low-income and other marginalized persons by challenging unjust and unlawful practices. As part of her work, Kraner focused on juvenile and criminal justice reform through impact litigation, as well as legislative and executive advocacy. She also oversees Lowenstein’s civil rights and asylum dockets.

“Catherine and I have made the best kind of trouble together over many years,” said Kraner. “While she will be a hard act to follow, Alex and I are committed to sustaining her vision and continuing the fight for justice and equal opportunity on behalf of underrepresented populations throughout the region and the country.”

As the firm prepares for the change, its leadership expressed confidence in the center’s incoming team.

Wingens pointed to Shalom’s reputation in social justice work, saying he is “an ideal choice to continue the center’s admirable legacy alongside Kraner.” He also believes they’ll be successful in “further expanding” Lowenstein’s pro bono initiatives.

Former Attorney General Christopher Porrino, partner and chair of the litigation department, shared, “Since my days in government, I’ve known Alex as a formidable advocate and a steadfast champion of civil rights. I am confident he and Natalie will forge ahead on the path that Catherine has blazed by fighting fearlessly for justice on behalf of our pro bono clients.”

Honoring excellence:

NJBIZ recently unveiled the 2024 Leaders in Law honorees – legal professionals and firms whose dedication to the industry and to their communities is outstanding. Click here to see this year’s class.