Alison Cox

By Ava Kaiser

For Alison Cox, special counsel for Bowles Rice LLP, serving her community was instilled in her from an early age. Raised in Martinsburg, WV, by two loving and supportive parents, Cox often joined them in volunteer work.

“My parents taught me the importance of public service by modeling it for me,” Cox says. “They took me along when they served, and I learned by watching them.”

Cox spent most of her childhood in a dance studio on Martin Street, where her passion for dance became the first step in her career.

“The dance studio was my refuge, a place for creative expression and striving toward perfection,” she says. “I still miss the comfort, the challenges and the feeling of being in a ballet class.”

After attaining her Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance with a classical concentration from Radford University, Cox relocated to dance professionally with Dance Theatre of Florida. As much as she loved dancing, Cox was eager to apply to law school at the end of her first season with the dance company.

Returning to the Mountain State, Cox attended the West Virginia University (WVU) College of Law. Her background in performing arts made law school particularly challenging at first. Admittedly, it took her a while to find her footing in thinking more analytically, but once she did, Cox enjoyed the discussions that arose when analyzing a case and learning new concepts.

During winter break of her second year in law school, Cox became engaged. She decided she wanted to graduate early, and two weeks after her December 1998 graduation, she married her husband and now colleague, Chris Cox, a retired U.S. Army veteran and now also special counsel for Bowles Rice.

Cox describes her husband as a real-life Ted Lasso and credits him as her greatest influence and partner.

“Chris makes every situation turn into a positive experience with true compassion, honesty and leadership,” says Cox. “I am lucky to have him as a colleague as well. I couldn’t imagine doing life with anyone else.”

Cox and her husband eventually moved to Colorado Springs, where he was stationed as an Army officer. From there, she started her first legal job at Shepards, acquired by LexisNexis, where she worked as a legal editor.

After three years in Colorado Springs, her husband was ready for law school, and the couple moved back to Morgantown so he could attend WVU College of Law. Cox got a job as a staff attorney at West Virginia Senior Legal Aid, where she advocated for and provided legal information to West Virginia’s senior population. The role influenced her need to practice in an area where she could work and help people directly.

“It was the first legal position where I worked one-on-one with clients, and it gave me my first taste of estate planning,” she says.

For Cox, the biggest challenge to her legal career was deciding to take a 12-year hiatus from the practice of law.

“In my husband’s third year of law school, we found out we were expecting our first child and that he was getting stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina,” she says. “I decided to leave the practice of law and stay at home to provide stability to my growing family.”

The war in Iraq brought imminent deployments for her husband, leading the family from Fort Bragg, after two deployments, to Charlottesville, VA, in 2007. They welcomedtheir second child shortly after moving.

In 2016, after her husband retired from his Army career while stationed in Vicenza, Italy, the family moved to Charles Town, WV. Cox was eager to return to a town only 16 miles away from where she and her husband grew up.

“We left the state for several years during his military service, but we always knew we wanted to return home,” Cox says. “We wanted our kids to grow up with a sense of home and with a Mountaineer heart. It was important to both of us that we return home and serve the community that raised us.”

With her children now older and her family settled in one place, Cox decided it was the right time to reenter the practice of law. She joined Bowles Rice that year, working on the tax team in estate planning and estate administration. Her practice focuses on assisting individuals and business owners with estate planning, administration, wills, trusts and elder law matters.

“All families are different, with different considerations and priorities,” Cox says. “I listen to what they want and try to deliver an estate plan that meets their needs and protects them from any estate tax liabilities, if necessary.”

Cox also spends time in client development for the firm, and her favorite part of the position is the moments when her job becomes more than just being a lawyer.

“At Bowles Rice, we love our community, and we want to make sure we are there to support our fellow businesses and nonprofits,” she says. “It is my pleasure to help facilitate that work.”

Seeing a shrinking legal community in the Eastern Panhandle, she partnered with WVU College of Law to organize Eastern Panhandle Day, featuring attorneys discussing local practice with students.

Cox is involved with several community and civic activities. She serves as chair of the Potomac Bank advisory board; vice president of CASA of the Eastern Panhandle; vice chair of Martinsburg-Berkeley County Chamber of Commerce; board member for Hospice of the Panhandle; board member and member of the planned giving committee at WVU Medicine East Foundation; and volunteer with Read-A-Loud, Shenandoah Women’s Advocacy Group, Jefferson County Garden Club, Happy Retreat and Jefferson County Community Ministries.

Due to her strong commitment to community service, Cox has received many awards and accolades. In 2018, she was selected by the National Endowment for the Arts as a panelist for the Dance Review Committee. In 2020, she was recognized by the West Virginia State Bar’s More than a Lawyer program. In 2025, Cox was named a distinguishedvolunteer by the National Association of Fundraising Professionals, a recognition that followed a career path built on experiences and passions that differed from the traditional legal journey.

Cox considers her two children, Anna Grace and Chandler, her greatest achievements. Anna Grace is a senior at the University of Utah, where she is pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in ballet. Chandler is a freshman at WVU, where he will be pursuing a degree in psychology.

“When the kids were younger, we moved every nine months to two years,” Cox says. “We are a close family that supports and relies upon each other. Watching the kids grow and mature into the amazing people they are has been my greatest source of pride.”

In Charles Town, Cox and her family live in a historic home they fell in love with at first sight. Happy to be surrounded by the beauty of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, the family also enjoys living among history. The home of Charles Washington, Happy Retreat, is only three blocks from her own. Cox credits the downtown organization, Charles Town Now, for bringing the community together through local events that celebrate the town’s heritage.

“I feel very blessed to have grown up and now live in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia,” Cox says. “I grew up in a community that, at least in my experience and perception, always worked for the greater good.”