Biography

When private and public employers sit down at the negotiation table, Bill Bowser is often by their side.  He represents management during high-profile labor negotiations, union campaigns, and binding interest arbitration matters.

Bill defends employers in breach of contract, employment discrimination, civil rights, harassment, and wrongful termination lawsuits in both state and appellant courts. He also represents employers in administrative proceedings before the NLRB, the Delaware PERB, the EEOC, the Delaware Department of Labor, and other government agencies.

Bill believes that employers can often avoid litigation by developing effective employee handbooks, workplace policies and procedures that properly comply with FMLA and ADA guidelines.  He not only helps employers craft these documents but also trains in-house counsel, human resource professionals, supervisors, and employees to make certain these policies are consistently followed.

In today's high-tech workplace, employers often ask Bill to draft or review employment agreements that contain restrictive covenants or trade secret provisions.  Bill, along with his corporate and intellectual property colleagues, can help protect company assets and eliminate the misappropriation of confidential information.

Bill was selected by The Best Lawyers in America© as the 2018 Lawyer of the Year for Management Employment Law. He also was named Labor and Employment Lawyer of the Year in 2016 and as Management Labor Lawyer of the Year in 2012.  He is also listed as a top employment lawyer (Band 1) in the 2018 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, a recognition he has maintained since 2006.

Bill is General Counsel to the Delaware Public Employment Labor Relations Association and was appointed by Governor John Carney to serve as the Chair of Delaware's Judicial Nominating Commission.

Education

  • Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law  (J.D., cum laude)
  • University of Delaware  (B.A.)
    • with Honors

Bar Admissions

  • Delaware

Court Admissions

  • U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. Supreme Court

Distinctions

  • Delaware Super Lawyers®, Employment & Labor, 2015-2016
  • The Best Lawyers in America©, 2024 Delaware Litigation Labor and Employment Lawyer of the Year, 2016 Delaware Management Labor Law Lawyer of the Year, 2014 Delaware Litigation Labor and Employment Lawyer of the Year and 2012 Delaware Management Labor Lawyer of the Year
  • Chambers USA - America's Leading Lawyers for Business, Labor and Employment, 2006 - Present

Memberships and Affiliations

  • Delaware State Bar Association, Section of Labor & Employment Law, Past Chair, Member
  • Delaware Cancer Consortium, Past Chair
  • Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Delaware, Treasurer
  • Judicial Nominating Commission, Chair
  • Governor Carney's Transition Team, Chair