Philip McDowell
Philip McDowell joined the Heartland Family Mediators, LLC team in 2017. Philip is a licensed attorney in Indiana having graduated from the Indiana University McKinney School of Law. Philip spent his first years of practice in the litigation field for the Attorney General of Indiana Office. Philip is a member of the American Bar Association and a member of the Indiana Bar Association.
Philip’s legal education was centered on family law and the importance of using alternative dispute resolution methods versus litigation. As an attorney, Philip has seen the intimidation courts can bring to families. With an average cost of a litigated divorce exceeding $30,000, and processes which can take more than four years to resolve all claims, Philip has also seen the financial and personal devastation litigated divorce can bring into the lives of parents and their children. Philip strongly believes that the future way domestic disputes will be resolved will be through mediation because it allows families to resolve issues themselves and on their terms. He believes mediation’s structure and confidential approach supports time and cost efficiency.
Philip in his mediator role is committed to assisting divorcing couples as they seek to resolve their issues in ways which are consistent with their commitment to fairness, which take less time, and which consume far fewer financial resources. He believes the mediation process allows couples to retain full control of their outcome, saves them from unnecessary anger and pain so common in litigated divorce, and does so in ways that allow them to handle the underlying issues without the endless red tape universally found in the legal process.
Philip spent his first years of practice in the litigation field for the Attorney General of Indiana Office. Philip is a member of the American Bar Association and a member of the Indiana Bar Association.
Philip is an excellent resource for helping couples become educated on the legal process itself. His undergraduate background in business brings an ability to assist couples as they seek to understand their financial futures. This is a significant value of the mediation process while an agreement is being crafted to divide financial assets and other property equitably. Philip’s sensitive method of gathering information facilitates positive conversation, seeks to help both parties to be on an equal playing field, and it helps calm concerns many have for their future economic security as they navigate the economic uncertainty which divorce can bring.