Derrick W. McDowell

Derrick W. McDowell is a Senior Managing Associate at Dentons, practicing in the Energy Law group. He focuses on energy and oil law and litigation, trust and estate litigation, and general commercial litigation.

Derrick has significant experience in the carbon capture and sequestration sector, having drafted agreements for well site leasing, pore space acquisitions, and rights-of-way, and created a 50‑state survey on eminent domain, unitization, and CCS pipelines. He has successfully represented clients in appeals before the Indiana Court of Appeals, obtained full summary judgment in a homeowners' association dispute, and played an integral role in an appellate victory for Alliance Resource Partners before the Appellate Court of Illinois. He has also obtained treble damages and attorneys' fees for personal representatives of an estate under the Indiana Crime Victims' Relief Act.

He holds a J.D. from Southern Illinois University School of Law (2019), where he served as Managing Editor of the Law Journal, and a B.S. in Political Science from the University of Evansville (2013). He is admitted to practice in Indiana, Illinois, and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.

Derrick has been selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Commercial Litigation (2026) and named to the Indiana Super Lawyers Rising Stars list in Energy & Resources (2025, 2026). He serves as Vice Chair of the Evansville Bar Association Family Law Section and on the Board of Directors for the Legal Aid Society for Vanderburgh County.