Bowie allegedly “failed to conduct himself with integrity” by sexually harassing two clients and two other unnamed complainants.
Suspended Ottawa lawyer James Bowie is facing new allegations of misconduct from the Law Society of Ontario with his criminal trial set to resume this week.
In the Jan. 16 filing, the Law Society Tribunal alleged Bowie “failed to conduct himself with integrity” by sexually harassing two clients and two other unnamed complainants.
Bowie is set to stand trial on charges of harassment, extortion and two counts of uttering threats to Leanne Aubin, a former client. His criminal trial was adjourned after sitting for one day in late September and is set to resume Jan. 28.
According to the LSO allegations, Bowie “failed to conduct himself with integrity by sexually harassing his client…by sending communications containing unwelcome sexual advances; making requests for sexual favours in exchange for legal services; and/or engaging in other verbal, written or physical conduct of a sexual nature.”
The LSO alleged the misconduct occurred in August and September 2022. The LSO also alleged Bowie breached the woman’s confidentiality on Nov. 29, 2022 by publicly sharing confidential information on social media without the woman’s authorization.
The complainants are not named in the LSO notice, though the misconduct allegations against “Client A” closely resemble the allegations brought by Aubin in a civil lawsuit, which reached a resolution in October 2024.
Bowie was ordered to pay Aubin $235,000 for his “shocking” conduct towards the woman in a legal-services-for-sex proposal.
Superior Court Justice Heather Williams said in her Oct. 11 decision that Bowie waged a “campaign to exploit the circumstances of this vulnerable young client for his own gratification” and disclosed her identity and confidential personal details in a social media chat.
The judge said the evidence amounts to a “staggering breach of the trust obligations a lawyer owes to a client.”
The LSO notice filed earlier this month outlines similar allegations of misconduct and sexual harassment against three other complainants.
Bowie is alleged to have committed the professional misconduct against the unnamed “Client B” in July 2018.
Those allegations include “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, and/or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature,” according to the LSO filing.
The LSO, the governing body for legal professionals in the province, made similar allegations against Bowie related to two other unnamed people in November 2021.
No criminal charges have been laid related to those allegations.
The criminal allegations against Bowie have not been tested in court.
Bowie is represented by Ottawa criminal defence lawyer Eric Granger, and his trial is set to resume on Jan. 28.
According to the LSO, Bowie is also facing misconduct allegations for failing to report that he had been charged criminally in April 2023.
The LSO alleged Bowie “failed to cooperate with and failed to respond to an investigation of the Law Society of Ontario by failing to promptly and completely produce all of the information and documents requested by the Law Society.”
