Lawyer Alan Lowenstein, philanthropist, dies at 93
Update: The memorial service is scheduled for Thursday, May 31 at NJPAC in Newark at 11:00 a.m.
Alan V. Lowenstein, a prominent attorney and leading philanthropist who served as president to a forerunner of United Jewish Communities of MetroWest New Jersey, died May 8 at the age of 93 after a long illness.
A founder of Lowenstein Sandler, one of New Jersey's preeminent law firms, he presided over the Jewish Community Council of Essex County between 1950 and 1952 and was instrumental in establishing the foundations of what is today UJC MetroWest NJ.
He was a Maplewood resident, a member of Oheb Shalom Congregation in South Orange, a Lester Society Protector, and a major donor to the UJA Campaign.
"His involvement has left a tremendous legacy for our community," said UJC MetroWest president Kenneth R. Heyman of Short Hills.
"He was involved in many of the most important decisions through a period of great growth in the Jewish community when Newark was in its heyday and one of the important centers of Jewish life in the country. A lot of things we have in place today are due to the efforts of Alan Lowenstein."
Lowenstein was central to the founding of the Metropolitan New Jersey chapter of the American Jewish Committee.
Both Alan Lowenstein and his firm, Lowenstein Sandler, endowed the Lowenstein Fellowship Program for UJC MetroWest, which provides fellowships for studies in Jewish communal service.
"He provided tremendous support for our Jewish community through the pro bono services of his law firm," said UJC MetroWest NJ executive vice president Max Kleinman, who said he regarded Lowenstein as a "mentor."
"I worked very closely with him on the publication of William B. Helmreich's book The Enduring Community: The Jews of Newark and MetroWest. Those were wonderful days I spent with him," said Kleinman.
"He was a role model for those of us who practiced law and those of us in the Jewish community," agreed Bruce Shoulson of West Orange, a partner at Lowenstein Sandler and vice president of the Jewish Historical Society of MetroWest. "His life reflected the breadth of his generosity and commitments."
Born in Newark in 1913, Lowenstein graduated from the University of Michigan in 1933 and Harvard Law School three years later. After receiving a law degree, he became an aide to William O. Douglas, who later became an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court.
Lowenstein assisted Douglas in forming the Temporary National Economic Committee, the predecessor of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In 1940, he returned to Newark to practice law, and 21 years later established the firm that evolved from five to 250 attorneys.
According to a biography prepared by his law firm, Lowenstein's "most notable professional achievements include his drafting of the Banking Act of 1948 and Chair of the New Jersey Corporation Law Revision Commission (1963-1971). He took an active role in the charter reform commission that overhauled Newark's municipal government. He was listed among The Best Lawyers in America, since its inception in 1983 until his retirement in 2001, as one of New Jersey's top corporate law attorneys."
Before attending law school, he traveled to North Carolina to report on the organization of textile workers' union for the Newark Evening News. He served as a board member and president of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and established the Alan V. and Amy Lowenstein Foundation, which has a long record of providing grants in the Jewish community and enabled the founding of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.
In 2001, he wrote his autobiography, Alan V. Lowenstein: New Jersey Lawyer and Community Leader, which was published by the Rutgers University Press and the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education.
In its preface, he wrote: "Dreams are the stuff of life, and I have been most fortunate to have been able as a free spirit to pursue my dreams.… The joy has been in the doing, in the struggle, and not primarily in the achievement."
He is survived by one daughter, Jane Forsyth, and two sons, Roger and John.
A memorial service is being planned at a date to be announced (please see update above).
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