2025 Daily Journal Top Women Lawyers
Date: June 18, 2025
Daily Journal
Mary Dowling navigates complex legal terrain where traditional nonprofit law meets social innovation. Her practice specializes in steering organizations through high-stakes challenges while maintaining their mission integrity.
“I’ve always been drawn to helping people move through uncertainty with confidence- and I’ve also always had an entrepreneurial streak,” said Dowling, whose career spans charitable organization representation, affordable housing advocacy and community development.
Dowling recently represented multiple public charities caught in the FTX Foundation bankruptcy proceedings. These organizations received grants ranging from hundreds of thousands to several million dollars, later subject to clawback claims.
“These organizations accepted grants in good faith- often for transformative projects- and suddenly found themselves in the middle of a high-profile bankruptcy with intense public scrutiny,” Dowling said.
Her work required balancing the fiduciary duties of public charities against public perception and reputational risk while navigating fraudulent transfer law.
In another significant case, Dowling secured tax exemption under IRC Section 501(c)(3) for an affordable housing nonprofit focusing on middle-income workforce housing- an underserved segment, earning above 80% Area Median Income but priced out of market rate options.
The challenge involved demonstrating how serving middle-income households constituted charitable purpose under tax law. Dowling constructed arguments supported by economic data and policy trends to justify exemption for households earning between 80% and 240% of Area Median Income.
Dowling counts securing a 25-year lease for the World Beat Cultural Center among her most meaningful achievements. After decades of institutional resistance from the City of San Diego, she helped establish permanent space for the organization in Balboa Park.
“The challenge there was not just legal- it was also cultural and historical,” Dowling noted about the case that required reframing the center’s value proposition while addressing practical aspects of public space leasing.”
Her practice reflects broader shifts in how nonprofits operate and structure themselves. “We’re seeing a rise in mission-driven organizations that don’t fit in the traditional mold- nonprofits engaging in hybrid models, public-private partnerships and entrepreneurial approaches to solving systemic issues,” Dowling observed.
This evolution challenges established definitions of charitable purpose and requires fresh interpretations from regulatory bodies and funders.
2025 Super Lawyers Rising Stars
Date: March 13, 2025
Tovella Dowling, PC is proud to congratulate attorneys Mary Dowling and Dana Nassiri Park on being named on the 2025 Rising Stars Super Lawyers list, a recognition reserved for attorneys who have demonstrated exceptional legal skills and a strong reputation among their peers. Each year, only 2.5 of the lawyers in the state of California are selected to receive this honor. Congratulations to Mary and Dana!
2024 St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School Jog-a-thon Sponsor
Date: March 13, 2025
2024 San Diego Business Journal Women of Influence Award
Date: August 13, 2024
2023 St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School Jog-a-thon Sponsor
Date: August 13, 2024
Arizona Business on Board
Date: October 25, 2022
Nonprofit Board Service – The Legal Role
Workshop leader on fiduciary obligations of Nonprofit Board Service. This workshop overviews the fiduciary obligations imposed on nonprofit directors under the Arizona Revised Statutes and discusses illustrative examples of how a director may spot challenges in upholding such duties in service.
Annual State of Nonprofit and Philanthropy Summit – 2022
Date: October 24, 2022
Tovella Dowling, PC is sponsoring the 2022 Annual State of Nonprofit and Philanthropy Summit, hosted by The Nonprofit Institute. This conference brings together philanthropic leaders to discuss creation, implementation, and evaluation of innovative and collaborative strategies for nonprofits. This conference further analyzes findings from the 2022 State of Nonprofits and Philanthropy Report.
University of San Diego Nonprofit Governance Symposium – 2022
Date: January 27, 2022
Governing in Crisis: Organization Risk and Legal Compliance
Tovella Dowling, PC is sponsoring the upcoming 18th Annual Nonprofit Governance Symposium with its attorneys serving as featured speakers. Nonprofit Leaders spend a great deal of time envisioning events and scenarios that might happen in the future. The pandemic and its resulting effects have made this process much more difficult. The upcoming Annual Nonprofit Governance Symposium will bring together sector leaders and advisors to discuss and analyze the future of governance and examine more directly how governance can be the catalyst for building strong organizations and even stronger communities.
2021 Outstanding Nonprofit Lawyer Award Recipient
Date: December 30, 2021
Mary T. Dowling, Esq.
The legal nonprofit community has named the 2021 recipients of the annual “Outstanding Nonprofit Lawyer Awards.” The Nonprofit Organizations Committee of the American Bar Association, Business Law Section, recognizes accomplished and civic-minded nonprofit lawyers in the categories of Academic, Attorney, In-House Counsel, and Young Attorney. Additionally, the Committee bestows the Vanguard Award on a leading legal practitioner for his or her lifetime commitment to the nonprofit field.
2022 St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School Jog-a-thon Sponsor
Date: December 30, 2021
Ultramarathoner Sponsor - 2021
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