Orville D. Coward

Orville D. Coward was born in Sylva, North Carolina on October 30, 1925.  He graduated from Sylva High School in 1942, and served in the United States Navy during World War II.  After the War, he entered Western Carolina University in Cullowhee and transferred to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he graduated in 1948.  He then attended University of North Carolina School of Law and passed the North Carolina Bar exam in 1951.

In 1951, he returned to his home in the Western North Carolina mountains and opened a sole practice in Sylva, the county seat of Jackson County.  Mr. Coward tried his first 1^st degree murder case three years later and continued trials in the courtrooms of the 11^th Congressional District counties for a total of 55 years during which time he tried many dozen civil and criminal cases.

Mr. Coward’s brother James Kent Coward, Sr. (1929-1989), finished the Chapel Hill Law School and joined him in practice in 1957.  Their practice has now grown to 12 lawyers and Orville is proud to say it is one of the most respected firms in western North Carolina.  He is still in active practice.

Mr. Coward served twelve years on the Board of Trustees for Western Carolina University, and was elected by the North Carolina Legislature to serve four years on the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina.   He has been admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in North Carolina, the United States 4^th Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States Court of Federal Claims and the Supreme Court of the United States.