James Bowie (lawyer)

James Bowie (born 1983) is a Canadian lawyer specialising in criminal law, based in Ottawa. He was previously a political staffer for the Liberal Party of Canada.

James Bowie
Born1983
NationalityCanadian
OccupationLawyer
Known forCitizen journalism during the Canada convoy protest
Websitewww.jamesbowielaw.com

He is best known for documenting the court appearances of people who protested at the Canada Convoy protest in 2022.

Career

Bowie was licensed to practise law in Ontario in 2015 and launched his sole practise in 2020.[1] He works a sole-practitioner lawyer[2] based in Ottawa,[3] and specialising in criminal law.[4] He previous worked for the Liberal Party of Canada.[5]

He is best known for documenting via Twitter the evidence submissions of Canada Convoy protesters, including Tamara Lich at the 2022 Public Order Emergency Commission.[6][1] During the convoy protests, he also worked as television news pundit, he told the Law Society of Ontario that he had spoke on CTV, CBC News, and local radio.[2]

In June 2020, he offered free legal services to anyone arrested at an anti-racism protest in Ottawa.[4] In November 2022, Bowie was accused of providing legal services in exchange for sexual acts.[7] Three weeks later, the Law Society of Ontario seized his electronic devices as part of an investigation.[8] The next month, he was fined $5,000 and had his law license indefinitely suspended by the Law Society after failing to produce documentation and information requested by the society.[9] Earlier the same year, he practised law while his license was suspended.[2][1] Also in December 2022, but in unconnected circumstances, he was accused of offering cocaine and soliciting sexual contact with female clients.[10]

By February 2023, The Law Society had investigated Bowie's work three times, including investigating complaints about how he handled money held in trust for a client.[1]

Bowie was arrested on April 23, 2023 and charged with uttering threats of death or bodily harm, extortion, and harassment. He appeared in court on April 24 and pleaded not guilty.[11]

Personal life

Bowie was born in 1983.[8] He lives in the Glebe neighbourhood of Ottawa.[8]

References
  1. Dimmock, Gary (2 Feb 2023). "Ottawa lawyer in legal services-for-sex scandal probed for mishandling money". Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on 2023-02-02. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  2. Dimmock, Gary (14 Dec 2022). "Ottawa lawyer James Bowie blames Twitter fame for slow response to Law Society of Ontario complaint". Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on 2022-12-22. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  3. "James Bowie - Ottawa Lawyer". www.jamesbowielaw.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-17. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  4. Dubé, Dani-Elle (5 June 2020). "Lawyer offers free legal services to anyone who is arrested at Ottawa's anti-racism march". CityNews. Archived from the original on 2022-12-22. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  5. Ballingall, Alex; MacCharles, Tonda (2019-03-29). "Jody Wilson-Raybould's secret audio recording sparks ethics questions from legal community". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2022-12-22. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  6. Melnitzer, Julias (12 Dec 2022). "Ottawa lawyer James Bowie, accused of sexual misconduct, suspended by LSO in unrelated proceedings". Law Times. Archived from the original on 2022-12-22. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  7. Praill, Colton; Charron, Jeremie; Woods, Michael (2022-11-29). "'Shocking and disturbing:' Ottawa lawyer accused of sexual misconduct". CTV News. Archived from the original on 2022-12-22. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  8. Dimmock, Gary (22 Dec 2022). "Investigators seize Ottawa lawyer's devices in probe of services-for-sex allegations". Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on 2022-12-22. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  9. Raymond, Ted (2022-12-09). "Embattled Ottawa lawyer James Bowie has law licence suspended". CTV News. Archived from the original on 2022-12-22. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  10. Praill, Colton; Woods, Michael (2022-12-06). "Embattled Ottawa lawyer James Bowie facing new accusations of harassment, manipulation, sexual assault". CTV News. Archived from the original on 2022-12-22. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  11. "Embattled Ottawa lawyer facing criminal charges". Ottawa. 2023-04-24. Archived from the original on 2023-04-24. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
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