By Sheila Pursglove
Legal News
A recent graduate from Cooley Law School, William Bowman--the first in his family to enter the law—will launch his career in August with the civil litigation team at Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge in Grand Rapids.
Bowman got a taste of the law at Grand Valley State University, earning his degree in Legal Studies, an ABA-approved paralegal program.
During undergrad, he worked in Grand Rapids as a paralegal at Stenger & Stenger, P.C.; and as a paralegal intern at CBH Attorneys & Counselors, PLLC.
“Right off the bat, I enjoyed the responsibility I was given and the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the outcome of a client’s case,” he says. “When something is real, with stakes and consequences, the satisfaction is so much greater when you can deliver a positive result. And I think the best part was learning that a positive result is when both parties walk away knowing the outcome was a fair resolution.”
Volunteering at the Legal Assistance Center in Grand Rapids gave Bowman the opportunity to meet the community on another level.
Both experiences were valuable for law school studies.
“Paralegal work taught me how cases are actually built — pleadings, motions, discovery, the day-to-day mechanics that law school doesn’t always cover,” he says. “The Legal Assistance Center taught me how to listen to a person describe a problem and figure out the underlying legal need. By the time I started at Cooley, I wasn’t learning what a motion for summary disposition looked like for the first time. I was learning the doctrine that explained why it worked the way it did.”
In a summer 2024 law clerk position at Scarfone & Geen, P.C. in Madison Heights, he researched and wrote memoranda on complex issues, drafting motions and briefs, and broke down filings so attorneys could decide how to respond.
Last summer he returned to CBH Attorneys & Counselors.
“What I enjoyed most was that the work I was given mattered to the case,” he says. “When you draft a memo or a motion, an attorney is going to use it, and the client is going to realize the result one way or the other. That changes how you write. You find yourself asking questions in a different way and coming to the conclusion that no stone is worth leaving unturned.”
He aims to build his career in the civil arena.
“A good civil litigator is one who can take a complex issue before a jury and have a conversation—one who can speak plainly and persuasively while advocating their clients’ interests in a way that makes sense,” he says. “That combination of rigor and plain speech is what draws me to it. It’s as much a craft as it is an occupation. Civil law holds us accountable to each other—for the agreements we make, the duties we owe, and the obligation to remedy breaches to the extent they cause harm.”
His role as Student Bar Association president at Cooley Law School gave him room to think creatively, work problems out, and deliver for the student body.
He also was Lead Dean’s Fellow in the peer-to-peer tutoring program.
A three-time intraschool mock trial champion, Bowman also competed nationally in the Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition—the world’s largest moot court competition—reaching the octo-finals at regional rounds in Portland in 2025 and the advanced rounds at the national competition in Atlanta this past March.
He also participated in the Duberstein National Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition in New York City in 2024.
The recipient of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan’s Ralph M. Freeman College Scholarship, Bowman was honored with a Distinguished Student Award and a Leadership Achievement Award at the Spring Honors Convocation.
Bowman’s plan is to be a first-chair litigator and advocate for clients to the fullest extent possible.
“Lawyering is a trade, and I hope to be a craftsman,” he says. “I don’t have a career peak I wish to summit—rather, my goals are to continually embrace the opportunity that responsibility provides.”
Legal News
A recent graduate from Cooley Law School, William Bowman--the first in his family to enter the law—will launch his career in August with the civil litigation team at Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge in Grand Rapids.
Bowman got a taste of the law at Grand Valley State University, earning his degree in Legal Studies, an ABA-approved paralegal program.
During undergrad, he worked in Grand Rapids as a paralegal at Stenger & Stenger, P.C.; and as a paralegal intern at CBH Attorneys & Counselors, PLLC.
“Right off the bat, I enjoyed the responsibility I was given and the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the outcome of a client’s case,” he says. “When something is real, with stakes and consequences, the satisfaction is so much greater when you can deliver a positive result. And I think the best part was learning that a positive result is when both parties walk away knowing the outcome was a fair resolution.”
Volunteering at the Legal Assistance Center in Grand Rapids gave Bowman the opportunity to meet the community on another level.
Both experiences were valuable for law school studies.
“Paralegal work taught me how cases are actually built — pleadings, motions, discovery, the day-to-day mechanics that law school doesn’t always cover,” he says. “The Legal Assistance Center taught me how to listen to a person describe a problem and figure out the underlying legal need. By the time I started at Cooley, I wasn’t learning what a motion for summary disposition looked like for the first time. I was learning the doctrine that explained why it worked the way it did.”
In a summer 2024 law clerk position at Scarfone & Geen, P.C. in Madison Heights, he researched and wrote memoranda on complex issues, drafting motions and briefs, and broke down filings so attorneys could decide how to respond.
Last summer he returned to CBH Attorneys & Counselors.
“What I enjoyed most was that the work I was given mattered to the case,” he says. “When you draft a memo or a motion, an attorney is going to use it, and the client is going to realize the result one way or the other. That changes how you write. You find yourself asking questions in a different way and coming to the conclusion that no stone is worth leaving unturned.”
He aims to build his career in the civil arena.
“A good civil litigator is one who can take a complex issue before a jury and have a conversation—one who can speak plainly and persuasively while advocating their clients’ interests in a way that makes sense,” he says. “That combination of rigor and plain speech is what draws me to it. It’s as much a craft as it is an occupation. Civil law holds us accountable to each other—for the agreements we make, the duties we owe, and the obligation to remedy breaches to the extent they cause harm.”
His role as Student Bar Association president at Cooley Law School gave him room to think creatively, work problems out, and deliver for the student body.
He also was Lead Dean’s Fellow in the peer-to-peer tutoring program.
A three-time intraschool mock trial champion, Bowman also competed nationally in the Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition—the world’s largest moot court competition—reaching the octo-finals at regional rounds in Portland in 2025 and the advanced rounds at the national competition in Atlanta this past March.
He also participated in the Duberstein National Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition in New York City in 2024.
The recipient of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan’s Ralph M. Freeman College Scholarship, Bowman was honored with a Distinguished Student Award and a Leadership Achievement Award at the Spring Honors Convocation.
Bowman’s plan is to be a first-chair litigator and advocate for clients to the fullest extent possible.
“Lawyering is a trade, and I hope to be a craftsman,” he says. “I don’t have a career peak I wish to summit—rather, my goals are to continually embrace the opportunity that responsibility provides.”
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