Bow held the degrees of Master of Arts and Bachelor of Laws. Scots law is a mixed legal system, combining civil-law concepts derived from Roman law with features of the common law, and legal education in Scotland developed within that tradition.
Bow practised law in Glasgow as a partner of Maclay Murray & Spens. The firm was founded in Glasgow in 1871 by David Maclay, David Murray and John Spens, and it was described as the first law firm in Scotland with a specifically commercial practice. It later combined with the international firm Dentons, which announced the combination in July 2017.
Bow was admitted to the bar in Scotland in 1950 and also served as a notary public. In Glasgow's legal tradition, the notary and procurator branches of the profession long overlapped, with notaries often acting as court clerks while procurators appeared before the courts.
Bow was a member of the Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow, a professional society of lawyers based in Glasgow and the west of central Scotland. The body was incorporated before 1668 to support and regulate the procurators of the Commissary Court of Glasgow, and a Royal Charter of 1796 united the Commissary Court practitioners of Glasgow and Hamilton and Campsie into the Faculty. The Faculty established standards of practice and acted as a charity for members and their families in need, and it added the 'Royal' title in 1950.
