Joshua A. Lanham

Josh Lanham works as an associate attorney in the Bowles Rice Litigation Department.  He practices in the firm's Charleston, West Virginia office and represents his clients’ interests in front of many adjudicatory bodies throughout the State of West Virginia, including administrative proceedings, arbitration proceedings, Magistrate Courts, Circuit Courts, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia and the United States District Courts for the Southern and Northern Districts of West Virginia.

Josh focuses his practice on commercial litigation; construction litigation; professional licensing disputes; will, trust, and estate litigation; bad faith litigation; and insurance defense.  He has successfully resolved matters for his clients through dispositive motions, favorable settlements, and at trial. 

In 2017, Josh earned his law degree from the West Virginia University College of Law, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif (a distinction given to the top ten percent of the graduating class), an associate editor of The West Virginia Law Review and a student attorney for the College’s General Legal Clinic. He received his bachelor's degree, summa cum laude, in political science from West Virginia University.

Additionally, in his spare time, Josh enjoys spending time with his fiancée, Brooke, and his dog, Sirius. Josh is also a published children's book author. In 2022, he donated over 100 copies of his newest book, A Dog Named Frog, to local elementary schools for the holiday season and volunteered time to read his book to local classrooms throughout Kanawha and Putnam Counties.   

Representative Matters: 

• Obtained judgment on the pleadings in a debt collection action and successfully garnished the amount owed to creditor client.
• Obtained motion for summary judgment in favor of employer client against two former employees’ wrongful termination and West Virginia Wage Payment and Collection Act claims. 
• Obtained dismissal of an insurer defendant in an insurance bad faith action under Rule 12(b) of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure.
• Secured professional licenses for various clients that were being withheld by the licensing authority.
• Obtained a favorable ruling after a bench trial entitling his creditor client to the entire sum of debt owed by debtor.

• Recognized by The Best Lawyers In America: Ones to Watch in Litigation – Banking and Finance and Litigation – Construction (2024 Edition)
• Order of the Coif, West Virginia University College of Law
• Recipient of CALI Awards (recognition for achieving the highest grade in a particular subject) at West Virginia University College of Law:
• Constitutional Law
• Renewable Energy and Alternative Fuel Law

• Kanawha Pastoral Counseling Center (Current President, Past Secretary, Board of Directors)
• Legal Aid of West Virginia (Volunteer)