Austin, Texas
- Dallas (Principal Office)
- (214) 780-1400
Watson Bowen
Watson Bowen
Associate
-
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)
About Watson Bowen
Watson Bowen is an associate attorney in the aviation practice at the law firm of SHACKELFORD, MCKINLEY & NORTON, LLP, in Austin, Texas. A professional pilot and flight instructor before becoming an aviation attorney, Watson relies on his experience in the industry to advise his clients on a vast array of regulatory, transactional, tax, dispute resolution, and general liability and risk management issues for individuals and businesses operating business aircraft. Watson represents and counsels his aviation industry clients — from small aircraft owners and operators of individual aircraft, to large, multinational corporations operating a fleet of business aircraft — in various matters including transactional, tax, and general risk management issues, as well as Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) and Department of Transportation (“DOT”) regulatory compliance matters.
Watson’s clients range from individual owner / operators with single aircraft to corporate operators with a fleet of aircraft regarding the purchase, sale, ownership and operations of those aircraft. As an Airline Transport Pilot (“ATP”) rated pilot and flight instructor with more than fifteen years of flight experience, Watson understands and appreciates the complex environment these individuals and companies must navigate in order to run a successful aviation operation. Additionally, as a former aviation litigator representing clients in high-stakes, catastrophic airplane and helicopter disasters, Watson understands the burden litigation can have on a client. Watson, therefore, strives to understand the intricacies of the client’s business or operation in order to reduce their potential for litigation by coupling liability and risk reducing strategies with advice custom tailored to suit the client’s needs.
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 their Austin, Texas office in the fall of 2022. Watson is active in the business aviation industry, for example serving on the National Business Aviation Association’s (“NBAA”) Domestic Operations Committee, specifically focusing on the current and future needs of business aircraft operators. In addition, Watson is one of the featured attorneys in the 2024 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation national publication and the only attorney recognized in the aviation practice area.
