He, with partner Drew Laughlin, was a founding member of Laughlin & Bowen which has served the Hilton Head and Bluffton area for more than 20 years. Prior to forming the firm, John practiced law as a partner with the firms of Bowen, Smoot and Laughlin and Palmer, Brooks, Bowen and Howell, both also on Hilton Head Island. Over the past 30 years, John has been active in the Hilton Head and Bluffton communities as a Founding Member of the Hilton Head Sertoma Club, Charter Member of the Bluffton Rotary Club, a member and Past Master of Unanimity #418 Masonic Lodge on Hilton Head, member of Scottish Rite - Charleston, youth soccer coach and team sponsor since 1993, a member of the Vestry of The Church of The Cross in Bluffton, and of All Saints Episcopal Church, Hilton Head. He is a member of the Adjunct Faculty at the University of South Carolina where he has taught both English and Commercial Law since 1976 at the Columbia and Beaufort campus. For 27 years he served his country as a Field Artillery Officer in the U.S. Army and the National Guard, serving active duty tours in both Vietnam and Germany. John has received the AV® rating by Martindale-Hubble which is their highest rating for legal ability and ethics, is listed in the Bar Registry of Pre-eminent Lawyers, and is a member of the American Association for Justice, the Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute, and the Hilton Head Island, Beaufort County, and South Carolina Bar Associations. He has been certified as a Civil Mediator in both State and Federal Courts for more than ten years. He currently serves as a Member of the Fee Dispute Committee for the 14th Judicial Circuit, has been a member of the South Carolina Bar’s Ethics Advisory Committee, the Lawyer Physician Relationship Committee, and the Vice-President of the Beaufort County Bar Association. He and his wife Leslie (Wamsley) live on Hilton Head where they have raised their four children, and where they now are helping to raise two grandchildren. EDUCATION BAR ADMISSIONS South Carolina Supreme Court (All South Carolina Courts) PRACTICE AREAS
John R. C. Bowen, Esquire – john@laughlinandbowen.com |
John Bowen has practiced law for almost three decades in the areas of admiralty and maritime law, personal injury, employment litigation, estate and trust litigation, business litigation, and general civil litigation. Since the early 1980's he has represented victims of all types of injuries caused by products or accidents, and was involved in the early air-bag litigation against Ford Motor Company and other auto makers, which litigation contributed to that safety feature being government mandated. He has represented ship and boat owners, brokers, crew, passengers, and insurance carriers in all manner of maritime claims including personal injury to passengers and crew, vessel damage claims, crew wages, contract matters, salvage claims, charter parties, watersports (parasailing, dolphin tours, jet ski, marina, etc.) liability, documentation, brokerage, and vessel arrests. In recent years, he has handled some significant estate and trust litigation arising from the abuse or exploitation of elder clients. Additionally, John has practiced business litigation including contract disputes and business torts.