Suspended Ottawa lawyer sentenced to 4 years in prison for criminal harassment, extortion

Former Ottawa lawyer James Bowie was sentenced to four years in prison for threatening an ex-client, harassment and extortion. CTV’s Austin Lee reports.

Suspended Ottawa lawyer James Bowie will spend time in prison for threatening to kill a former client who went public with misconduct allegations against him and harassing and extorting a former friend.

A judge sentenced Bowie to four years in prison at the Ottawa Courthouse Tuesday morning after finding him guilty of extortion, uttering death threats and criminal harassment in March.

“Mr. Bowie’s fall from grace was at his own hands,” Justice Paul Cooper said while delivering the verdict.

CTV News first reported misconduct allegations against Bowie in 2022.

His former client Leanne Aubin stated publicly and to the Law Society of Ontario that Bowie had offered her legal services in exchange for oral sex.

Court heard Bowie asked a friend to obtain a firearm for him and requested her help to “get rid of the Leanne Aubin problem.”

The friend stopped responding to his many messages. Bowie admitted to placing GPS trackers on her vehicle and followed her to grocery stores and her home.

“It is a well-considered and completely appropriate sentence,” Michael Spratt, Aubin’s lawyer, told reporters after the sentencing hearing. “Mr. Bowie deserves to go to the penitentiary for the despicable and deplorable crimes that he committed.”

Spratt said Aubin went public “because she thought it was important that the community know what happened.”

Bowie’s lawyer called for a conditional sentence, served in the community. Eric Granger said it will be up to Bowie if he wants to file an appeal.

“Obviously, he’s got a period of 30 days in which to make that decision and undoubtedly the matter will be reviewed,” Granger said.

“As much as the judge indicated, it was a very unique case. He had a number of circumstances to consider, and that’s ultimately the decision he arrived at. It’s an unusual case for a lawyer to find themselves on this side of the criminal courts, and there aren’t a lot of cases like that.”

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Katie Griffin and Austin Lee