About James L.S.
James L.S. Bowdish earned his B.A. at Wake Forest University before taking his law degree from Stetson University College of Law. Those years set a steady professional course. He entered practice in the late 1960s and has been active in state and federal practice for decades.
His bar memberships reflect a long federal and state practice. He joined The Florida Bar in 1969 and was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court in 1973. He gained admission to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida in 1976 and holds credentials in the Fifth and Eleventh Circuit courts. He is also admitted to the United States Court of Military Appeals. Those admissions have allowed a career that moves between civil trial work, appellate matters, and proceedings before federal tribunals.
Bowdish’s career has included a long association with Crary Buchanan, where he has worked as a lawyer. The firm affiliation has anchored his courtroom and arbitration work. He is certified by the Florida Supreme Court as a circuit court civil mediator and as an arbitrator, and he maintains membership in the American Arbitration Association. Those roles underscore a parallel practice handling negotiated resolutions and contested hearings.
Beyond practice, Bowdish has held leadership positions in the legal community. He served as president of the Martin County Bar Association in 1985–1986 and has been a past chairman of both the Judicial Liaison Committee and the Committee on Judicial Polls and Evaluation. He has also participated in bar and civic institutions for many years, including membership in the United Way of Martin County, where he has served as president, and ongoing involvement with the Vestry of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church.
His professional profile includes service links to military legal channels as well. He is affiliated with the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps and maintains longstanding membership in federal courts and military appellate forums. That range of affiliations has given him practical experience across civil litigation, arbitration, mediation, and administrative proceedings.
Colleagues describe Bowdish as steady and experienced in courtroom procedure and dispute resolution. He continues to practice law at Crary Buchanan, handling civil litigation, arbitration, mediation, and related appeals. His current practice centers on civil litigation and alternative dispute resolution.
