Bowles Rice Announces Six New Partners

By: Charleston, WV
January 4, 2013

Bowles Rice LLP is pleased to announce the election of six lawyers to the partnership, effective January 1, 2013.  The new partners are Lenna R. Chambers, Carl L. Fletcher, Jr., Jill E. Hall, James V. Kelsh, Evan R. Kime and Benjamin R. Thomas.  In making the announcement, Tom Heywood, the law firm's Managing Partner, said "I want to congratulate our new partners on this major career milestone.  Each of them have demonstrated an outstanding commitment and dedication to our clients, and to our firm."

Lenna Chambers represents governmental pension plan administrators in administrative and judicial tribunals, and provides counsel on matters related to governmental plans' federal and state law compliance and day-to-day operations. She also advises employers about employee health care plan compliance with state and federal law and represents clients in commercial litigation matters. Lenna is a 2006 graduate of The George Washington University Law School and received her undergraduate degree, cum laude, from Marshall University.

Carl Fletcher, who joined Bowles Rice in 2010, is an experienced litigator.  He represents contractors and subcontractors in state and federal courts, before the West Virginia Court of Claims, in matters before the West Virginia Contractors Licensing Board and in arbitration proceedings involving claims.  He also represents municipalities in litigation and disputes over sewer and water line projects.  Carl graduated from West Virginia University College of Law in 1980, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif.  He earned his undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia.

Jill Hall provides human resources advice and counsel to employers in the public and private sectors and defends employers in ERISA litigation and employment cases. She also advises employers with regard to employee welfare benefit plans, including health, life and disability plans. She is co-chair of the Bowles Rice Diversity Committee and a member of the board of directors of West Virginia KIDS COUNT. She graduated from the West Virginia University College of Law in 2001, where she was a member of the Law Review and graduated Order of the Coif. Jill received her undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, from Bethany College.

James Kelsh joined Bowles Rice in 2012 and is a member of the firm's expanding Environmental and Regulatory group.  He assists clients with water and sewer project development, utility rate cases and telecommunications matters.  He served as a Staff Attorney for the West Virginia Public Service Commission from 1996 to 2000 and is certified by the West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council.  Jim received his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1994 and received his undergraduate degree, cum laude, from St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1988.

Evan Kime is a member of the firm's Litigation Department, where he defends clients in a range of civil litigation matters, including products liability, workplace safety, insurance bad faith, and contractual disputes.  He is a 2006 graduate of the West Virginia University College of Law, where he was Senior Editor of the Law Review.  Evan earned his undergraduate degree in computer science, cum laude, from Alderson-Broaddus College in 1999.

Ben Thomas is experienced in advising businesses on various structural matters related to acquisitions, entity formation and general corporate governance matters. A native of West Virginia, he joined Bowles Rice in 2010 after several years of private practice in North Carolina. He is a member of Leadership West Virginia's Class of 2012. Ben earned his law degree from Washington and Lee University School of Law in 2005 after graduating, magna cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame in 2002 with a degree in accounting.

Bowles Rice is a regional, full-service law firm with more than 130 attorneys and eight offices, located in Charleston, Martinsburg, Morgantown, Moundsville and Parkersburg, West Virginia; Southpointe, Pennsylvania; Lexington, Kentucky; and Winchester, Virginia.