Mark Joseph McGowan

Mark Joseph McGowan

4.9
Rating: 8.4

Licensed for 29 years

Trusts Lawyer at Palm Desert, CA
Practice Areas: Trusts, Probate, Personal Injury ... +3 more

72630 Fred Waring Drive, Suite 201, Palm Desert, CA

About Mark

Biography

Mark J. McGowan is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford University (1981) and graduate of Stanford Law School (1984). His practice focuses on representing individuals, estates, and businesses in trans...

Practice Areas

Fees and Rates

We have not found any cost information for this lawyer


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Licenses

Licensed in California for 25 years

State: California

Acquired: 2000

Active

No misconduct found

Licensed in Washington for 24 years

State: Washington

Acquired: 2002

Administrative Suspension

No misconduct found

Licensed in Florida for 29 years

State: Florida

Acquired: 1996

Retired

No misconduct found

Location

The Law Offices of Mark J. McGowan

72630 Fred Waring Drive, Suite 201, Palm Desert, CA, 92260

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Mark Joseph McGowan's Reviews

Avvo Review Score

4.9 /5.0

125 Client Reviews

Showing 1 - 5 of 6 reviews | Marriage & Prenuptials

Posted by Wendy | February 26, 2026 | Hired Attorney | Marriage & Prenuptials

Excellent Attorney

I had the pleasure of working with Mark on my prenuptial agreement which had to be taken care of very quickly. From the first phone call to the end result, everything was handled quickly, and very professionally and it was a pleasure working with him throughout the whole process. I would use hi...s services again and would highly recommend him to anyone needing his legal expertise.

Posted by Aran | August 08, 2025 | Hired Attorney | Marriage & Prenuptials

Horrible Experience

I retained Mark McGowan for a prenuptial agreement and paid a $1,750 retainer. Over the course of the engagement, he failed to make any of the edits we discussed in our meetings, advised me to revise the agreement myself at home, and even suggested signing the prenup on the same day we finalized it, ...something that would have invalidated the entire agreement under California law had I not caught the error myself. Even more alarming: he printed my draft on the backs of highly confidential documents from other clients (which included trusts and wills, personal financial information, and clients' home addresses) which he suggested I bring home with me. This raises serious concerns about how he handles privileged information. When I raised these issues, he dismissed them and demanded over $4,000 in additional fees. Now, he refuses to certify the agreement at all, effectively invalidating the document and wasting months of effort and expense. I cannot recommend this attorney to anyone seeking competent, ethical, or reliable legal representation.

Posted by Nick | August 08, 2025 | Hired Attorney | Marriage & Prenuptials

Worst lawyer ever!

Even though this lawyer didn’t represent me, he still managed to ruin my prenup. My wife paid him $1,750 to review and certify her side, but he did almost nothing: no edits after the first meeting, told her to revise it herself, and even advised us to sign it the same day it was finalized (which woul...d’ve made it invalid under California law). He’s now refusing to certify it unless we pay thousands more. His negligence negatively affected both of us. Absolutely would not recommend.

Posted by Brian | March 06, 2025 | Hired Attorney | Marriage & Prenuptials

Expert help with our prenuptial agreement

Our experience with Mark was excellent he was professional, and knowledgeable, he put us at ease right from the start. mark answered all of our questions and concerns. I would highly recommend Mark to anyone needing help with trusts, prenups, probate and personal injury. Thanks mark

Posted by sergio | February 13, 2024 | Hired Attorney | Marriage & Prenuptials

Premarital agreement

Mark did a premarital agreement for me he did it very quickly. and price was fair i would recommend him to my friends

See All Client Reviews

Mark Joseph McGowan's Lawyer Endorsements

Endorse Mark
Carolyn Holt Martino headshot
Carolyn Martino

Trusts lawyer | Jul 16

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"Very knowledgeable and professional. Highly respected for his ethics and hard work."

View All Endorsements

No Endorsement Data Available Yet
This attorney hasn't created any attorney endorsements recently on Avvo.

Experience

Rating:  8.4 (Excellent)

Honors

2004

Certified Specialist - California State Bar, California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization

2001

Attorney and Counsellor, Supreme Court of the United States of America

1981

Phi Beta Kappa, Stanford

Work Experience

2000 - Present

Attorney and Counsellor, The Law Offices of Mark J. McGowan

1984 - 1986

Practitioner, Rifkind, Sterling & Levin

Associations

American Bar Association

Desert Bar Association

Stanford Alumni Association

Education

1984

Stanford Law School

JD - Juris Doctor

1981

Stanford University

BA - Bachelor of Arts

Languages

English

Spanish

Avvo Rating

Our Rating is calculated using information the lawyer has included on their profile in addition to the information we collect from state bar associations and other organizations that license legal professionals. Attorneys who claim their profiles and provide Avvo with more information tend to have a higher rating than those who do not.

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  • Experience & background Years licensed, work experience, education
  • Legal community recognition Peer endorsements, associations, awards
  • Legal thought leadership Publications, speaking engagements
  • Discipline Disciplinary information may not be comprehensive, or updated. We recommend that you always check a lawyer's disciplinary status with their respective state bar association before hiring them.
Avvo Rating Levels
10.0 - 9.0 Superb8.9 - 8.0 Excellent7.9 - 7.0 Very Good6.9 - 6.0 Good5.9 - 5.0 Average4.9 - 4.0 Concern3.9 - 3.0 Caution2.9 - 2.0 Strong Caution1.9 - 1.0 Extreme Caution