Profile

Doug Brown is a partner in the Business Services Group of Bose McKinney & Evans LLP and principal and senior policy advisor of the firm’s ancillary business, Bose Public Affairs Group LLC. He served eight years as Bose Public Affairs Group’s managing principal. He also is an active member of the firm’s Governmental Services and Financial Institutions Groups. He has served as outside general counsel to businesses in various sectors, including wealth management, mortgage lending, software, manufacturing, motorsports, real estate development, gaming and horse racing, in connection with a wide variety of legal issues, including business transactions, disputes, financing, governmental affairs, public affairs, legislative affairs, regulatory affairs, and daily strategic and operational matters. Doug has served as inside general counsel to a national mortgage lender and worked as outside general counsel to the Indiana Association of Mortgage Brokers.

Recognized as one of Indianapolis’ leading and most influential lawyers by the Indianapolis Business Journal, Doug also has been named an Indiana Super Lawyer® by Law & Politics magazine. Indiana’s late Gov. Frank O’Bannon also named Doug a Sagamore of the Wabash, the highest state governmental honor bestowed upon a civilian.

For 17 years, Doug served as a member and officer of the Capital Improvement Board of Managers of Marion County, comprised of nine community leaders responsible for the ownership, financing and/or operation of the City of Indianapolis’ sports, convention and public assembly venues, including the Indiana Convention Center, Lucas Oil Stadium, Bankers Life Fieldhouse and Victory Field. Doug also served as the CIB’s designee on the Board of Directors of the Indiana Sports Corporation, a not-for-profit enterprise responsible for promoting sporting events in Central Indiana ranging from U.S. Olympic Trials, Big Ten and NCAA tournaments, the NCAA National Football Championship and the 2012 Super Bowl. He also has served as a member of the board of directors of the 500 Festival, which is one of the largest festivals in the world, hosting more than 100 annual events surrounding the Indianapolis 500, and is a board member of the 500 Festival Foundation. He has served as a member of the executive committee and board of directors of the Indy Chamber. Doug was a board chair and founding board member  of the International School of Indiana, and served as board chair of the International Center of Indianapolis and St. Mary’s Early Childhood Center. He served as a member of the board of trustees of Franklin College, and serves as a trustee of the St. Mary’s Child Center Foundation.  He also serves as board chair of the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana Foundation, and a board member of the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana. Doug served as the executive chair of the American Cancer Society’s 2017 and 2023 Indianapolis Discovery Ball, and served as Vice Chair of the American Cancer Society of Indiana board.  He served as the co-chair of the International School of Indiana’s 2019 Capital Campaign, and serves as a member of the capital campaign cabinet of the 500 Festival Foundation. In 2023, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb appointed Doug to the board of INvestEd, a not for profit student loan marketing and education company which provides Indiana students with solutions to put higher education within reach.

Doug and three of his fellow BME attorneys are members of the International Masters of Gaming Law, an organization of pre-eminent gaming attorneys from around the world.

Education

Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law (1984)
Vanderbilt University, B.A. (1981)

Honors / Awards

Indiana Lawyer Distinguished Barrister Award (2017); The Best Lawyers in America® (Gaming Law, 2013-2027); Indiana Super Lawyers®, 2003-2019; St. Mary’s Child Center Miracle Maker Award, 2015; Sagamore of the Wabash, 2003; Martindale-Hubbell AV Rating; General Member: International Masters of Gaming Law

 

Representative Matters

  • Brown is well-known for successfully representing the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the passage of legislation by the Indiana General Assembly establishing a $100 million state investment in the historic speedway.
  • Brown is also well-known for successfully reviving the hard fought decade-long battle by Indiana Downs to obtain a license from the Indiana Horsing Commission to build and operate the state’s second parimutuel horse track and racino (Indiana Downs / Indiana Live!).
  • Brown has served as the general counsel of the Indiana Association of Mortgage Brokers and Indiana Association of Mortgage Professionals. Mr. Brown has been integrally involved in the drafting, passage, enforcement and evolution of Indiana’s mortgage lending laws and regulations.
  • Brown was a founding director, secretary and legal counsel to the Indiana Gaming Association and has been integrally involved in the drafting, passage, enforcement and evolution of Indiana’s gaming laws and regulations.

Appointments / Memberships

Indy Chamber (Executive Committee: 2017-2023;  Board of Directors 2016–present); Indiana Chamber Government Affairs Council (2016–present); INvestED Board of Directors (2023-present); Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana Foundation (Board Chair,  2021-2025 and Board of Directors, 2014–present); Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana (Board of Directors, 2014–present); Ivy Tech Beverage Management Capital Campaign Co-Chair (2016–2018); Mackrell International Sports and Entertainment Practice Group (2018– present); American Cancer Society – Indiana (Board Chair,  2026 – present and Board of Directors,  2016-present); American Cancer Society – Indiana Discovery Ball (Executive Chair, 2017 and 2023); Capital Improvement Board of Managers of Marion County (Secretary, 2007–2017 and Board Member, 2001–2017); 500 Festival Foundation Board of Directors (2022–Present); 500 Festival Board of Directors (2010–2017); Indiana Sports Corporation (Board of Directors, 1993–1994 and 2007–2010); Franklin College Board of Trustees (2017 – 2022)  Indiana Association of Mortgage Brokers (general counsel, 1992–2010); International Masters of Gaming Law (current); International School of Indiana (Founding Board of Directors, 1993–2009; Board Chair and President, 2007–2008); St. Mary’s Early Childhood Center (Board of Directors, 1998–2009; Board Chair and President, 2007–2008); St. Mary’s Foundation (Co-Trustee, 2008–present); Stanley K. Lacy Leadership Series (1992); American, Indiana and Indianapolis Bar Associations

 

Admissions

Indiana, Indiana Supreme Court, Supreme Court of the United States, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana