McGowan is a career telecommunications attorney and a founding partner of Lukas, McGowan, Gutierrez & Sachs (now Lukas, Nace, Gutierrez & Sachs), where he specialized in wireless telecommunications law. Additionally McGowan was instrumental in the founding and operation of several telecommunications companies, particularly McLang Cellular, as well as Dial Call Inc and Integrated Northcoast. A personal friend of President Clinton since college and a major contributor and fundraiser to Clinton's campaign, McGowan was appointed as Clinton's ambassador to Portugal. He currently sits on the board of Portugal Telecom (NYSE:PT). He lives in Arlington, Virginia with his wife, Susan.