James Bowie (lawyer)

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James Bowie
Born1983
NationalityCanadian
OccupationLawyer
Known forTweeting during the Canada convoy protest
Website www.jamesbowielaw.com

James Bowie (born 1983) is a Canadian lawyer specialising in criminal law. Based in Ottawa, he used social media to document court appearances of people who protested at the Canada Convoy protest in 2022. In 2022, he was suspended by the Law Society of Ontario for professional misconduct.

Contents

Career

Before practicing law, Bowie worked as a staffer for the Liberal Party of Canada. [1] Bowie was licensed to practise law in Ontario in 2015 and began working as an Ottawa-based sole-practitioner in criminal law in 2020. [2] In June 2020, he offered free legal services to anyone arrested at an anti-racism protest during the George Floyd protests in Ottawa. [3]

In early 2022, Bowie documented the bail hearing of Tamara Lich and other Canada Convoy protesters on Twitter. [4] [2] During the convoy protests, he also worked as a television news pundit.[ citation needed ] He told the Law Society of Ontario that he had spoken on CTV, CBC News, and local radio. [5]

In December 2022, he was fined $5,000 and had his law license indefinitely suspended by the Law Society for professional misconduct after failing to produce documentation and information requested by the society. [6]

The Law Society's tribunal decision was released in February 2023. [2]

Personal life

Bowie was born in 1983. [7] He lives in the Glebe neighbourhood of Ottawa. [7]

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References

  1. 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.
  2. 1 2 3 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 1 2 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.