About Ellen M.
Ellen M. McDowell built her legal foundation across several disciplines before earning a J.D. in Tax from Rutgers University–Camden in 1984. She began her higher education at Temple University, studying business administration, and completed a B.A. in English at the University of Delaware in 1979. Her academic path combined business, writing and tax law training, a mix that has informed her approach to legal problems over decades.
Her professional life is anchored in a single firm she helped create. In 1998 she became a founding shareholder of McDowell Law, PC. That step formalized a practice that had been shaped by years of work at the intersection of tax and corporate matters. The firm operates out of its established offices and serves clients who require counsel on tax-related legal issues.
McDowell holds a Tax Honors certification from her law program. She is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and she also holds admission to the Third Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. Those admissions give her credentials to appear in federal appellate settings as necessary, and they reflect long-standing membership in multiple bars.
Her career spans more than three decades in law. She has handled matters that draw on both her tax training and her earlier business education. Her background in English has shaped how she frames arguments and drafts legal documents. Colleagues describe a lawyer who attends to detail in complex tax questions and who approaches litigation and advisory work with careful preparation.
At McDowell Law, PC she serves in a leadership role as founding shareholder and remains active in the firm’s day-to-day practice. The office handles client engagements that range from counseling to contested matters, often requiring familiarity with state and federal procedures. Her admissions to appellate courts have been useful when cases require filings beyond trial courts.
Outside the office, McDowell’s path from business student to tax-trained lawyer illustrates an adaptable career built on varied academic interests. She continues to apply that background in the practice of law and to oversee work at her firm. She currently practices at McDowell Law, PC, concentrating on tax matters.
