Title: Health Care Law Partner
Company: ArentFox Schiff LLP
Location: Spring City, Utah, United States
Lowell C. Brown, health care law partner at ArentFox Schiff LLP, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Lawyers for dedication, achievements, and leadership in health care law.
Mr. Brown’s 40-plus-year career kicked off at the age of 16 when his father posed a simple question to him: “Lowell, what do you want to do when you grow up?” Inspired by the dramatic fictional exploits of Perry Mason, Mr. Brown answered that he wanted to be a lawyer, envisioning this profession as something glamorous, full of fast cars and exciting courtroom showdowns. However, his father responded in a way that completely reshaped his view of the path before him: “That’s a great profession if you’d like to help people.”
That incident — and the recognition that lawyers could play a huge role in helping others — stayed with Mr. Brown as he began pursuing a future in law. While in school, he took on his first internship opportunity as a summer associate at Musick, Peeler & Garrett, which was widely considered one of the leading health care law firms in California in the early 1980s. Seeing others in the office work in that field, including his assigned mentor, Mr. Brown was convinced that health care law was boring and tedious and hoped to avoid it. Thus, in his first jobs after graduating, as an associate at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton, now Shepard Mullin, and at Gipson Hoffman & Pancione, he was primarily focused on copyright law.
To his surprise, Mr. Brown discovered that he was uninspired by copyright law as well and considered giving up on a legal career altogether until a colleague encouraged him to give health care law another chance. He joined Foley & Lardner LLP in 1990 in the firm’s health law department and quickly realized that this work gave him a strong sense of purpose by allowing him to fulfill the objective his father had mentioned all those years ago: helping people. Mr. Brown stayed with Foley & Lardner LLP until 2007, at which point he accepted a position as a health care law partner at ArentFox Schiff. He has also served as outside legal counsel for the California Hospital Association since 1992, advising the organization on health law issues.
Within health care law, Mr. Brown’s practice primarily centers on medical peer review, a process wherein physicians formally review one another’s care, triggering disciplinary action in some cases. He works with health care providers, doctors, hospitals and patients in these complex legal proceedings to ensure that physician oversight is honored and doctors are given a fair opportunity to defend themselves, with the goal of supporting positive health outcomes for patients.
Considering his accomplishments, Mr. Brown points to a memorable case he oversaw involving an interventional cardiologist who was brilliant but had anger issues that made him difficult for nurses to work with and worried many patients. Working closely with this doctor and other hospital staff members, he reached a resolution where the doctor signed a behavioral agreement that mandated seeking a psychiatric evaluation. That led to the doctor being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and receiving proper treatment, allowing him to gain control over his anger and serve patients in a healthy and successful manner for the past 15 years without any further incidents. Mr. Brown points to this experience as a highlight of his professional life and a standout example of how his legal practice can help people.
Mr. Brown’s performance in the field was born of his academic foundation. He obtained a Bachelor of Science in political science from The University of Utah in 1982. That same year, he also earned a Juris Doctor from S.J. Quinney College of Law at the same institution. Mr. Brown has been admitted to the bar in California. He remains affiliated with his alma mater as an adjunct professor, teaching a course in health care law at The University of Utah.
In addition to his professional life, Mr. Brown is a devoted husband to his wife, Sonja Eddings Brown, and a loving father to three children. In his downtime, he relaxes by running and watching baseball games. As Mr. Brown progresses into his fourth decade in health care law, he plans to shift away from full-time practice and focus more on training younger lawyers. He is passionate about sharing his expertise with the next generation and hopes to contribute to their success through presentations, articles, mentorship and volunteering.
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