Howard E. Seufer, Jr.

With more than 45 years of experience advising and representing all 55 of West Virginia’s county boards of education, Howard Seufer is a leading authority in education law. His counsel has helped shape key aspects of public education across the state, particularly in the areas of school board governance, board/superintendent relations, finance, human resources, and student rights.

Howard is the senior member of the Bowles Rice Education Law Practice, which has earned top-tier recognition from Best Lawyers in America and U.S. News & World Report’s Best Law Firms for its excellence in education law.

Consistently honored by Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers in America, Howard is deeply engaged in national and state-level education law circles. He is a member of the National School Attorneys Association and serves as West Virginia’s longtime liaison to the National School Boards Association Council of School Attorneys. Since 1983, he has served as legal counsel to the West Virginia School Board Association.

A skilled facilitator and sought-after speaker, Howard regularly presents, writes, and leads discussions on school law—always with an emphasis on practical, preventive legal strategies for education leaders. Policymakers at both the state and local levels frequently turn to him for insight on proposed education legislation and policy.

Howard is also co-founder of the Bowles Rice Signature Series Workshops, an invitation-only program that has delivered more than 300 interactive, small-group sessions over two decades. These full-day workshops have equipped hundreds of public-school administrators with focused legal instruction tailored to real-world challenges.

Beyond his legal practice, Howard is committed to public service and civic engagement. In 2018, West Virginia Executive magazine named him to its “Sharp Shooters” class, recognizing his leadership and philanthropic contributions. He currently serves as emeritus director and past chair of the Education Alliance, and as a director and officer of both the West Virginia Civic Education Foundation and the West Virginia Mansion Preservation Foundation. His past leadership roles include chairing the boards of both SW Resources Inc. (a nonprofit supporting adults with disabilities), and the Board of Governors of Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College. He also served on two Visiting Committees at West Virginia University: one for the College of Law and another for the President’s Office for Social Justice.

A lifelong advocate for literacy and youth engagement, Howard continues to volunteer with Read Aloud West Virginia, regularly reading to elementary students in Kanawha County.

• Leader, Bowles Rice Education Law Practice Group (1991-2019)
• Counsel since 1983 to the West Virginia School Board Association
• Co-founder, Signature Series Workshops

Representative Cases

• Adams v. Boone County Board of Education, No. 20-ICA-277 (W. Va. ICA, 2024) (grievance expenses)

• Berkeley County Council v. Government Properties Income Trust, LLC, 247 W.Va. 395, 880 S.E.2d 487 (2022) (assessments for taxation purposes)

• Gonzales v. The Board of Education of Cabell County, No. 2022 WL 123710 (W.Va. Sup. Ct. of App., 2022) (administrator insubordination)
• Redd v. McDowell County Board of Education, 2022 WL 1506071 (W.Va. Sup. Ct. of App., 2022) (teacher evaluations)

• Miller v. Marion County Board of Education, 2020 WL 7231114 (2020) (untimeliness of grievance complaint)

• Mayle v. Barbour County Board of Education, 2018 WL 317375 (2018) (filling aide/ECCAT vacancies).
• Monongalia County Board of Education v. American Federation of Teachers – West Virginia, AFL-CIO, 238 W.Va. 146, 792 S.E.2d 645 (2016) (RESA interventionists in the schools)
• Yatauro v. Calhoun County Board of Education, 2016 WL 5030280 (2016) (state-ordered contract reductions without hearings)
• Lemasters v. Jackson County Board of Education, 2016 WL 2977336 (2016) (teacher duty outside the school day)
• Adkins v. Cabell County Board of Education, 2016 WL 3435749 (2016) (accused felon’s suspension)
• Sayre v. Mason County Board of Education, 2016 WL 143435 (2016) (lengthening the workday)
• Williams v. Raleigh County Board of Education, 2015 WL 6181485 (2015) (service employee reclassification)
• Smith v. Berkeley County Board of Education, 2015 WL 7628692 (2015) (administrative fact finding)
• Staats v. Jackson County Board of Education, 2015 WL 6181438 (2015) (hours worked)
• Smith v. Berkeley County Board of Education, 2015 WL 2364292 (2015) (unemployment compensation and "other gross conduct")
• Eisentrout v. Preston County Board of Education, 2013 WL 3242868 (2013) (summer service positions)
• Patterson v. Board of Education of the County of Raleigh, 231 W.Va. 129, 744 S.E.2d 239 (2013) (uniformity of pay and benefits)
• Anderson v. Board of Education of the County of Gilmer, 2012 WL 5834898 (2012) (student attendance areas)
• Boards of Education v. Public Employees Insurance Agency, 2011 WL 9373981 (2011) (OPEB)
• Alderman v. Pocahontas County Board of Education, 223 W.Va. 431, 675 S.E.2d 907 (2009) (employee speech)
• State ex rel. Board of Education of County of Putnam v. Beane, 224 W. Va. 31, 680 S.E.2d 46 (2009) (circuit court jurisdiction)
• Wines v. Jefferson County Board of Education, 213 W.Va. 379, 582 S.E.2d 826 (2003) (discharging substitutes)
• Baker v. Hancock County Board of Education, 207 W.Va. 513, 534 S.E.2d 378 (2000) (continuing versus probationary contracts)
• Flint v. Harrison County Board of Education, 207 W.Va. 251, 531 S.E.2d 76 (1999) (uniformity of employee benefits)
• Pendleton Citizens for Community Schools v. Marockie, 203 W.Va. 310, 507 S.E.2d 673 (1998) (rural school consolidation)
• Boner v. Kanawha County Board of Education, 197 W.Va. 176, 475 S.E.2d 176 (1996) (independent contractors)
• Byrd v. Mercer County Board of Education, 196 W.Va. 1, 467 S.E.2d 142 (1995) (excess levies)
• Board of Education of County of Wood v. Enoch, 186 W.Va. 712, 414 S.E.2d 630 (1992) (extended year employment)
• State ex rel. Melchiori v. Board of Education of County of Marshall, 188 W.Va. 575, 425 S.E.2d 251 (1992) (professional RIF “bumping”)
• Lincoln County Board of Education v. Adkins, 188 W.Va. 430, 424 S.E.2d 775 (1992) (teacher planning periods)
• Winkler v. State School Building Authority, 189 W.Va. 748, 434 S.E.2d 420 (1990) (School Building Authority bonds)
• Brown v. Wood County Board of Education, 184 W.Va. 205, 400 S.E.2d 213 (1990) (teacher evaluations)
• Keith D. v. Ball, 177 W.Va. 93, 350 S.E.2d 720 (1986) (student discipline)
• Thomas v. Staats, 633 F.Supp. 797 (1985) (statute of limitations in special education)

• Martindale-Hubbell^® Overall Peer Rating: AV Preeminent 5.0 out of 5.0
• Named "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers^® for Education Law in Charleston, West Virginia (2024, 2016). Only a single lawyer in each practice area and community is honored with a "Lawyer of the Year" award from Best Lawyers.
• Best Lawyers in America^® since 2003 (Education Law)
• 2021 Mentor of the Year Award, West Virginia State Bar Young Lawyers Section 
• West Virginia Bar Foundation Fellow
• West Virginia University College of Law Order of the Coif, Order of Barristers
• Recognized by Super Lawyers (Schools & Education), 2018 - 2021
• Recognized by West Virginia Executive as a 2018 Sharp Shooter

• National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA)
• National School Boards Association - Council of School Attorneys (NSBA-COSA)
• U.S. Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference
• National School Attorneys Association (NSAA)
• West Virginia Bar Foundation Fellow
• West Virginia State Bar (Education Law Committee)

Current

• The Education Alliance: Business and Community for Public Schools (Emeritus Director; Committee Chair)
• We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution (Judge)
• West Virginia Civic Education Foundation (Board Member; Vice President) 
• West Virginia Mansion Preservation Foundation, Inc. (Board and Executive Committee Member; Treasurer)
• West Virginia Read Aloud Volunteer (Kanawha County Schools)

Past

• Blennerhassett Historical Foundation (Board Member; Secretary; Committee Chair)
• Blennerhassett Historical Park Commission (Commissioner)
• Parkersburg YMCA (Board of Directors)
• Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College Board of Governors (Member, Chair)
• St. Michaels Parish (Finance Council)
• S.W. Resources, Inc. (formerly the Sheltered Workshop of Wood County, West Virginia) (Board Member; Committee Chair; Board Chair)
• The Education Alliance: Business and Community for Public Schools (Committee Chair; Board Chair)
• Vision Shared (Education Committee)
• West Virginia University Social Justice Visiting Committee (Chair)
• WV eMentoring (eMentor to students in grades 8-12)