Create a Legacy with Intention.
Everyone has a story, and estate planning is a way to shape how that story continues. Whether you’re planning for your family, your business, or your community, we’re here to help you make decisions with confidence and clarity.
We offer wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and other essential tools to secure your wishes and protect what matters most. But our real focus is on people—not just paperwork. We take the time to listen, explain, and guide you through the process with care and respect.
This work is personal to us. We live in the community we serve, and we believe in building relationships that last. When your plan reflects your values and goals, it becomes more than a legal document—it becomes a legacy.
Mission Statement
At the Law Office of Steve Dowdell, we believe estate planning is more than a stack of legal documents. It's a deeply personal process of reflection, intention, and care. Our mission is to guide individuals and families through this process with clarity, empathy, and respect—so that the plans they create are meaningful, legally sound, and truly their own.
We start by listening. As Stephen Covey taught in Habit 5, we seek first to understand—because the most effective legal advice begins with genuine human connection. We take the time to know our clients and the people they love, recognizing that every estate plan exists within a broader landscape of relationships, timing, and life transitions.
Our approach combines legal expertise with personal insight. We educate our clients on the full scope of legal issues that touch upon aging and death, empowering them to make informed decisions with confidence and agency. Every plan we create is unique—built from the ground up to reflect each client’s values, goals, and circumstances.
But we don’t stop at drafting. We believe a true estate plan must be implemented thoughtfully: with correct titling, meaningful conversations, and proper delivery of documents to the right people and institutions. That’s how plans become real—and how they work when they’re needed most.
We are committed to serving our community by staying focused on estate planning and the issues that naturally arise from it. This focus allows us to build systems, deepen our expertise, and provide the highest level of service. While we care deeply about being a resource to the community, we honor our limits and respect our team’s need to work within our strengths.
Our team is the heart of our firm. We hire people who love what we do and who care deeply about our clients—even the difficult ones. We value initiative, resourcefulness, and kindness. In return, we offer loyalty, support, and a workplace where each person can grow into their potential and contribute their unique gifts.
We are here to serve—with integrity, intelligence, and compassion. And we’re proud to walk alongside our clients as they build plans that reflect the lives they’ve lived and the legacies they hope to leave.
Meet Steve.
I moved to the Olympic Peninsula in 2019 after more than a decade in Washington, D.C., and for the first time in my life, I feel deeply at home. The connection I’ve found here—to the people, the land, and the rhythm of this place—has shaped both my personal growth and the evolution of my work. I’ve come to believe that the most meaningful service happens when you’re rooted in a community, and I’m honored to offer legal guidance that reflects that belief.
Before founding my firm, I worked as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, where I handled civil litigation in tax enforcement, fraud, and financial investigations. Those eleven years sharpened my ability to navigate complex regulatory systems and to solve tough problems with creative, pragmatic solutions.
Before law, I was an engineer. I hold a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech and spent several years with General Electric, traveling the world to troubleshoot gas turbines in power plants. That background still informs my work—I approach legal systems with the mindset of a systems thinker and a fixer.
Today, my practice is rooted in estate planning, business, and real estate law, and I’m proud to work with a team that shares my commitment to integrity, service, and community. We’re building something new: a multidisciplinary firm that integrates legal, tax, and financial planning under one roof, offering holistic guidance that puts people—not silos—at the center.
