Nationally Prominent Litigator Douglas Eakeley Appointed First Alan V. Lowenstein Chair in Corporate and Business Law at Rutgers–Newark Law

NEWARK, NJ – Douglas S. Eakeley, a Member of the Firm of Lowenstein Sandler PC who is as respected for his dedication to increasing legal services for the poor as he is for his success in complex commercial litigation, has been appointed to the first Alan V. Lowenstein Chair in Corporate and Business Law at Rutgers School of Law–Newark.

The position was established by the late Alan V. Lowenstein, founder of Lowenstein Sandler, one of the leading law firms in New Jersey and a major figure in the state’s legal and non-profit communities. “Alan Lowenstein recognized a special opportunity for Rutgers Law School to expand both its historic commitment to civic engagement and its focus on teaching the laws and regulations governing corporations and the commercial bar,” said Dean John J. Farmer, Jr. “Thanks to Alan’s generosity, we are able to welcome someone of Doug Eakeley’s national stature to help us realize that vision.”

Roger Lowenstein, on behalf of the Lowenstein family, said:  “Over the years no one has understood and valued my father’s vision more than Doug Eakeley, both at the firm and at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice [founded by Alan Lowenstein and his wife Amy]. Doug is the ideal choice for the first occupant of the Lowenstein Chair, and to say the Lowenstein family is thrilled with the appointment would be an understatement. The faculty and administration at Rutgers are to be commended for this master stroke!” 

“I greatly look forward to joining the ranks of the Rutgers Law School faculty, and to sharing with students my experience and perspectives on the law and social justice,” said Eakeley. 

Eakeley, who will join the law school for the fall semester, will teach Business Associations and other corporate law courses, promote opportunities in public interest law, and be an active participant in matters that involve the law school community and members of the New Jersey corporate and business bar.  He will also maintain his affiliation with Lowenstein Sandler.

Eakeley heads the Lowenstein Sandler Class Action & Derivative Litigation Practice Group and co-chairs the firm’s Appellate and Antitrust & Trade Regulation Practice Groups. He has successfully tried numerous matters in federal and state courts, argued many appeals in the federal and state appellate courts, and served as lead counsel in cases in which new law was established. Those cases were in such areas as consumer fraud class actions, pharmaceutical products liability, antitrust, and civil RICO.

The 2008-2012 editions of The Best Lawyers in America include Eakeley on a short list of “bet-the-company” litigators for his work on “make or break” litigation. He has also been recognized every year since 2005 by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.

A former Rhodes Scholar and graduate of Yale Law School, Eakeley served as first assistant attorney general of the State of New Jersey. In 1993 he was appointed by President Clinton to the board of directors of the Legal Services Corporation, which he chaired until April 2003. His current professional affiliations include serving as vice chair of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, trustee of the Practising Law Institute, trustee of Legal Services of New Jersey, member of the Legal Services Corporation Pro Bono Task Force, and member of the Executive Advisory Committee of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution.

Eakeley has received numerous awards for his pro bono work and contributions to the legal community, including the American Jewish Committee’s Judge Learned Hand Award, Thurgood Marshall College Fund Award of Excellence, John Minor Wisdom Public Service and Professionalism Award from the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association, National Housing Institute’s Outstanding Service Award, Reynoso-Abascal Don Quixote Award from California Rural Legal Assistance, League of Women Voters of New Jersey Making Democracy Work Award, and the first Legal Services of New Jersey/New Jersey State Bar Association’s Pro Bono Publico Award (renamed the Debevoise-Eakeley Award).