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Stephen Lebowitz is a co-founder and managing director of Topspin Partners LBO, a $132 million private equity fund in Roslyn Heights. We caught up with him after he spoke at an ACG New York forum on private equity, and asked him about transitioning from law to the world of private equity, how a book changed his life and what he looks for in a company.
What led you to private equity? I was a corporate attorney. I read the book "One Up on Wall Street," an investment book by Peter Lynch, and realized I was passionate about investing in a way I wasn't passionate about practicing law. Private equity combined the investing aspect with the interpersonal and negotiating aspect, which I had from my law practice. It was a good fit for me.
How'd you make the transition? At the time I read that book, I was working at a different law firm, where the focus of their practice was high-yield bonds. I shifted to a law firm that focuses on private equity work. I ended up getting a job with a client, Topspin. I joined Topspin when I found out they wanted to do buyout investing.