Mr. McDowell, former chair of the firm's Business Group, practiced in the area of business and finance transactions.  He led the firm's Public Finance section.  Mr. McDowell's representations included governmental, quasi-governmental and private entities, including 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations which are eligible for tax exempt financing.  Under Mr. McDowell's leadership, the firm served as bond counsel or underwriter's counsel on transactions for the State of Delaware, all of the State's bond issuing authorities, all three counties, all major municipalities in the State, as well as the Delaware River & Bay Authority.

Mr. McDowell is an Emeritus member of the Delaware Bar.

Education

• Law School of the University of Virginia, J.D., 1974
• Princeton University, B.A. with Honors, 1967

Representative Matters

Mr. McDowell was counsel to the Delaware Health Facilities Authority and served as bond counsel on financings for all of the State's hospitals.  He also represented the University of Delaware, Delaware State University and various private secondary schools on their financing matters, as well as many nursing homes and other nonprofit organizations.

Other major clients included the Riverfront Development Corporation of Delaware, which was established by the Delaware legislature for the purpose of redeveloping the Christina and Brandywine riverfront areas in the City of Wilmington.

Professional Activities

• Mr. McDowell has held various leadership positions in the Delaware State Bar Association, including serving as President (2003-2004). He also served as Chair of the DSBA Committee for Diversity in the Legal Profession which, among other things, established the Louis Redding Fellowship, a special summer clerkship for first year minority law students. This Committee also sponsors annual Minority Job Fairs for law students as well as a Supplemental Bar Review Program designed to assist law students in preparing for the Delaware Bar Exam.
• Mr. McDowell currently is a director of the Delaware Bar Foundation and director and President of Delaware State Bar Insurance Services, Inc. Mr. McDowell is also a Trustee of Delaware State University, Delaware's historically black university; Chairman of the Board of East Side Charter School of Wilmington, Inc., an urban charter school serving pre-K to 8th grade; a director of Social Venture Partners-Delaware; and a former director of WHYY, Inc (Delaware Valley Public TV and Radio), Delaware Theater Company, Delaware Curative Workshop and New Castle County Economic Development Corporation.
• In 2005 Mr. McDowell was elected as a Fellow of the American College of Bond Counsel.