Jessica "Jessie" Bowis: Coming Home and Paying It Forward
Sometimes the people who make the greatest difference in our lives are the ones who believe in us before we believe in ourselves.
For Jessica “Jessie” Bowis, that encouragement helped take her from working in the mailroom of a North Carolina law firm to becoming an attorney and eventually opening her own practice, Bowis Law, PLLC, in Burgess. Today, she is not only serving the community that raised her but also hoping to offer the same encouragement to the next generation of young attorneys.
Jessie grew up in the Village area of Northumberland County, attended Woodland Academy, and graduated from Northumberland High School in 2005. Her childhood was filled with sports, church, and the close-knit relationships that make growing up in a small town special. Coaches, neighbors, extended family, and members of Gibeon Baptist Church all played important roles in her life.
But like many young people raised in a rural community, Jessie was eager to experience something different.
“At 18, I knew I was going somewhere else,” she recalled.
She headed to Clemson University in South Carolina, initially studying architecture before earning a degree in management. After graduation, she eventually settled in North Carolina, where an opportunity to work at a law firm would change the direction of her life.
Jessie started in the mailroom, worked her way through reception and administration, and eventually became a paralegal. Over the next several years, she gained valuable experience in the legal field, but it was the encouragement of two attorneys who saw something in her that she had yet to recognize in herself that made all the difference.
Joe and Sharon Edwards, a husband-and-wife legal team in North Carolina, became two of Jessie's greatest mentors.
“They were incredible. Strong in their faith. Awesome people just all around, and they really pushed me to go for it,” Jessie shared.
When they encouraged her to pursue law school, Jessie initially doubted herself.
“I thought to myself, ‘I'm not capable. I've never done that. I don't think I'm smart enough.’”
But Joe and Sharon weren't convinced by her doubts. They encouraged her to take the LSAT and see where it led.
With their support, along with that of fellow paralegal Kathy Brock, Jessie took the leap and enrolled at Campbell University School of Law in Raleigh, nearly a decade after completing her undergraduate degree.
Law school was challenging, but Jessie never questioned whether she was where she was supposed to be.
“I knew that's what I wanted to do,” she said. “I had faith that it was all going to work out.”
She graduated in 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, and passed the Virginia bar exam on her first attempt (after wearing a mask during the eight hour exam!).
By then, Jessie already knew where she wanted to practice law. She was coming home.
During law school, a summer internship with Circuit Court Judge McKenney, followed by another with attorney Will Hubbard of Hubbard, Terry and Britt, had opened her eyes to the opportunities and needs in the Northern Neck.
Jessie explained that the area is often considered a “legal desert,” with relatively few attorneys serving the community and many longtime practitioners approaching retirement.
Encouraged by Judge McKenney, Will Hubbard, and other local mentors, she recognized an opportunity to build a meaningful career while serving the community that had helped raise her.
In October 2020, Jessie began practicing law with Hubbard, Terry and Britt. Her practice initially included real estate, estate planning, and corporate matters, with real estate becoming a significant focus during the busy housing market of the following years.
In 2024, Judge McKenney appointed Jessie Commissioner of Accounts for Lancaster County. Earlier this year, Judge Martin appointed her to the same position in Northumberland County.
As Commissioner of Accounts, Jessie oversees financial accountings submitted by individuals responsible for managing estates and assets on behalf of others, helping ensure that beneficiaries, minors, and incapacitated adults are protected and that assets are properly handled.
In February 2026, Jessie took another significant step in her career when she opened her own law firm, Bowis Law, PLLC, in Burgess, just ten minutes from home.
For someone who once questioned whether she was capable of attending law school, owning her own practice is a remarkable full-circle moment. Today, Jessie balances the responsibilities of running her firm with serving as Commissioner of Accounts for both Lancaster and Northumberland counties. Her practice also focuses on estate planning, estate administration, and real estate.
Fortunately, she has an invaluable partner in Jill Hartman, who retired after 35 years with the Supreme Court before moving to Burgess to be near family. Jessie persuaded Jill to come out of retirement, and the two have built a strong working partnership.
Of all the legal work Jessie does, estate planning holds a particularly meaningful place in her heart. Growing up in the Northern Neck gives her a personal connection to the families she serves. Whether researching property deeds or helping clients prepare for the future, she often finds herself recognizing familiar names and family histories.
“You see a family you've known your whole life, and their legacy is on paper,” she explained.
When clients sit down to consider their children, grandchildren, and the generations that will follow, Jessie finds it especially rewarding to help them put those wishes into place. And in a community where people often know one another's parents, grandparents, and family stories, that work becomes even more personal.
Outside the office, Jessie has another full-time role as wife and mother. She and her husband, Edward, whose family owns and operates Buzzard's Point Marina and Tangier Cruises, have a one-year-old son and twin 15-year-old daughters.
Their story began with a boat.
After moving home, Jessie decided that if she was going to live in the Northern Neck, she needed a boat of her own. Her future husband restored one for her, even adding a Clemson paw to the hatch.
As Jessie laughingly recalled, she ended up with more than a boat.
“I found my boat along with a captain, two teenagers, and a dog. It was a package deal.”
Today, their family life is filled with sports, time on the water, and the busy schedules that come with raising three children. Jessie is quick to acknowledge the invaluable support of her mother and mother-in-law, whom she affectionately describes as “saints” for the way they step in to help care for their son.
Having her own practice just ten minutes from home has given her greater flexibility to balance the demands of work and family.
And while Jessie once couldn't wait to leave the Northern Neck, returning as an adult has given her an entirely new appreciation for the place she grew up.
She remembers calling her mother shortly after moving back and saying, “I think I just heard a bird's wings flapping.”
After years surrounded by concrete, traffic, and parking garages, the quiet was almost startling.
“I did not appreciate it until I moved back,” she admitted.
Now, the peaceful surroundings, familiar faces at church, and conversations with neighbors at the grocery store are among the things she treasures most. Even more meaningful is the opportunity to raise her son in the same kind of community that helped shape her own childhood.
“I know that it takes a village, and I trust my village,” Jessie said.
Looking toward the future, Jessie isn't necessarily planning to expand her law practice. Her plate, she readily admits, is already quite full.
But there is one opportunity she hopes never to turn away.
Last summer, two local female college students interested in pursuing law approached her about the possibility of eventually practicing in their hometown. Jessie would love to offer them internships, opportunities to shadow her, or whatever encouragement she can provide to help bring young attorneys back to the Northern Neck.
“I'll do whatever I can to bring them back home,” she said.
As a first-generation college graduate, Jessie knows firsthand what it means to have mentors who recognize her potential, encourage her to take a chance, and help her find the courage to pursue something bigger.
Perhaps the most lasting legacy she will leave won't be found in the legal documents she prepares, but in the lives of those she encourages to believe that they, too, are capable of more than they ever imagined.