Austin, Texas
- Dallas (Principal Office)
- (214) 780-1400
Watson Bowen
Watson Bowen
Partner
-
2600 Via Fortuna
Suite 150
Austin, Texas 78746
- Texas (2019)
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas (2020)
- Texas Tech University School of Law, Magna Cum Laude, Order of the Coif (2019)
2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation; Member, Domestic Operations Committee (National Business Aircraft Association)
- “Part 111 – Pilot Records Database.” Presented at State Bar of Texas – Aviation Law Section CLE, Frisco, TX, March 1, 2024; and
- “Trends in Hangar Leases.” Presented at Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association – Summer 2025 CLE, Philadelphia, PA, August 14, 2025.
About Watson Bowen
Watson Bowen is a partner in the aviation practice at the law firm of SHACKELFORD, MCKINLEY & NORTON, LLP, with a main office in Dallas, Texas. Watson represents and counsels his aviation industry clients — from individual aircraft owners and operators to large, multinational corporations operating a fleet of aircraft — in various matters including purchase and sale transactions, tax, and general risk management issues, as well as Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) and Department of Transportation (“DOT”) regulatory compliance matters. As a professional pilot and flight instructor before becoming an aviation attorney, Watson relies on his boots-on-the-ground experience in the industry to advise his clients from a personal and practical perspective.
As an Airline Transport Pilot (“ATP”) rated pilot and flight instructor with more than sixteen years of experience in the aviation industry, Watson appreciates the complex regulatory and tax environment his clients must navigate when operating private and business aircraft. Watson’s legal career began representing clients in litigation involving high-stakes, catastrophic airplane and helicopter disasters, an experience the influences his risk management strategies and advice he provides to his clients. Watson strives to understand the client’s needs and aviation operations and relies on his background experience to provide a well-rounded counsel in a wide array of business aviation matters.
Watson graduated with honors from Texas Tech University School of Law in 2019, where he served as an articles editor on the Texas Tech Law Review, was a member of the Phi Delta Phi Legal Honor Society, and a member of the Order of the Coif. Watson began his legal career as an associate attorney at the law firm of Slack Davis Sanger, LLP, where we focused on complex personal injury and wrongful death cases arising from catastrophic aviation accidents and disasters. In 2021, Watson founded the law firm of Bowen Law PLLC, prior to joining the aviation practice at SHACKELFORD, MCKINLEY & NORTON, LLP, in September of 2022. Watson is active in the business aviation industry, and proudly serves on the National Business Aviation Association’s (“NBAA”) Domestic Operations Committee, focusing on the current and future needs of business aircraft operators.
