Alumni Success: Lisa A. Gorab ’89

Seton Hall Law is proud to celebrate alumna, Lisa A. Gorab ’89, who was elected as the President and Managing Director of the 100-year old law firm, Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, PA. Lisa is the first woman attorney to lead the firm and has served on its Management Committee for over a decade, following her election as its first female Officer.

Can you tell us about your Seton Hall Law experience?

I attended the night program at Seton Hall Law. At the time, the law school comprised a one-story building and a trailer. Four nights a week, I travelled from my job at a bank in Jersey City to Newark. While some people might view that as drudgery and tiresome, for me it was an exciting and energizing time of life. The night program students were diverse in every possible way—ethnically, age, profession, perspectives and goals. Our professors were engaging. I had Professor Franzese for UCC and recall that it was her first law school class. She was an incredible mentor to me and to the female night students, serving as a real role model for how we might also help to shatter the glass ceiling. Of course, I would be remiss to not recognize that Don Pepe played a big part of the night students’ social life on Thursday nights.

Why did you choose Seton Hall Law?

Seton Hall Law’s excellent reputation for preparing successful attorneys and its flexible curriculum format for night learning enabled me to attend school at night while maintaining my full-time job. I was attracted to Seton Hall’s long history of success in producing graduates who become successful attorneys known for their contributions to the profession and to their communities. All of these factors appealed to me strongly.

What does it say about Seton Hall Law to have so many of your fellow alums serving alongside you?

About a third of our attorneys are Seton Hall Law alumni. To me, it’s a reflection of our firm’s dedication to strive for excellence.

What is your platform/vision for the Wilentz moving forward?

Wilentz has succeeded for 100 by staying true to our strong roots and traditions and for an ability to adapt to the evolving legal market and level up our service delivery. Although a century ago we were a small, family run firm, today we have grown to over 100 lawyers who practice at the forefront of their respective fields and are driven to help our clients achieve their goals and best outcomes. My vision is to facilitate change to modernize the firm, diversify and strengthen our talent pool and to offer the most efficient service to client, as we remain true to the values that unite us in so doing.

What is the most important thing you want to accomplish for the Firm?

The most important thing I want to accomplish for Wilentz is to provide the same high caliber of leadership as those who led before me, to assure that we continue to be counted among New Jersey’s largest and most successful law firms as we evolve into the digital era.

Can you identify an achievement you are proud of in your first 100+ days as President?  

I’m proud to announce that (Seton Hall Law alum) John E. Keefe, Jr. and five lawyers on his legal team have joined Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer from Keefe Law Firm, a New Jersey-based litigation boutique known for achieving top verdicts and settlements in complex litigation with locations in Red Bank and Newark. As a result of their joining our firm, Wilentz now offers the State’s leading Alternative Dispute Resolution team, with (Seton Hall Law alumni) John Keefe, Sr., former Presiding Judge of the Appellate Division and Dennis R. O’Brien, former Judge of the Civil, Family, and Criminal Division joining Frank M. Ciuffani, former Presiding Judge of the General Equity Division and Wilentz ADR practice chair.

I am equally proud and excited to announce that Wilentz will this summer begin a 1L summer program for minority and/or under-represented Seton Hall Law students. We all look forward to welcoming this cohort to the firm and align their participation with our needs and their professional goals.

What is the biggest challenge facing Firms in 2021?

The pandemic and rapidly evolving technological advances present both challenges and opportunities. At Wilentz, we are focused on helping our clients to recover and prosper. Internally, we are focused on applying technology and knowledge management systems and processes to level up our service delivery and provide increasingly efficient service to clients.

These technological advances bring their own challenges with respect to the way that we communicate with clients, colleagues and adversaries. As the legal industry adapts to the digital era, we anticipate greater investments of energy and resources to create the tools we need to forge relationships and stay connected with clients, alumni and friends. Whereas in years past relationships would be developed exclusively by sitting across a table and negotiating settlement or documents related to a transaction, now e-mail and other digital communications are the mainstay of uniting all parties to a transaction or matters. This is an especially crucial aspect for young attorneys who are beginning their careers in this digital age to understand and balance.

How has COVID impacted your work or practice? What best practices have you implemented that you will continue post pandemic?

Yes, in ways I would imagine are similar to other similarly situated businesses in New Jersey. We will continue to focus on technological efficiencies and activating nimble, focused groups working toward a common strategic goal. We continue to plan how our firm will operate in the post-COVID period, reflecting on the lessons learned and integrating new best practices to strengthen and refine newly found efficiencies that facilitate our work in helping clients to achieve best outcomes.