Canadian Lawyer

12 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8 w w w . c a n a d i a n l a w y e r m a g . c o m R E G I O N A L W R A P K E L O W N A B.C.'S OKANAGAN STARTUP INDUSTRY SPURS LEGAL WORK B .C.'s Okanagan incu- bator atmosphere for new technology startups is spurring work for the legal sector as support ranges from incorporations and patents to multi-million- dollar transactions. Accord- ing to a local 2016 study, the technology sector is valued at $1.3 billion — and grow- ing — with 600 companies employing 8,000 individuals. High-profile companies in Kelowna include Disney Interactive, Bardel Enter- tainment (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Rick and Morty), QHR Technologies (medical records), AgriFor- est Bio-Technologies (plant tissue cultures) and Data Nerds (real estate indus- try). One of the larger 2016 sales saw Vernon resident Myles McGovern sell his Kelowna firm, Immersive Media, for $100 million to the Hong Kong company Digital Domain. The massive media and entertainment firm provides special effects to major films, including past winners such as Titanic, Benjamin Button, Maleficent, X-Men and Iron Man 3. It was the second largest deal in the Okanagan since Dis- ney bought Club Penguin for $350 million a decade ago. McGovern is also the co- inventor of the 360-degree, spherical camera with the technology used by Google to develop its Google Street View in 75 cities. "There is an energy in the city in the technolo- gy sector," says Michael Macaulay, a partner at Lawson Lundell LLP, which opened an office in Kelowna in 2017. Visitors compare the energy and excitement of the startup atmosphere as reminiscent of Silicon Valley in the early '70s, he says. Lawson Lundell's new office is in Kelowna's $35-million Okanagan Cen- tre for Innovation, a tech- nology hub for emergent and mature companies, with support companies, housed within. Lawson Lundell has hired a local technology lawyer and others followed. Macaulay, who had been travelling for years between Vancouver and Kelowna, moved in the spring, bring- ing the number of lawyers in the office to four with the ability to handle tech issues ranging from startups through to development, including tax and intellectu- al property law. Kelowna's ability to attract new tech sector firms is based not only on its workforce with technolog- ical savviness, B.C.'s third largest city also boasts an enviable lifestyle appealing to both established and new entrepreneurs. "There is an atmosphere of work hard and play hard," Macaulay says. It's a four-season area offering skiing in winter and lakes for water sports in summer, not to mention it is the heart of B.C.'s wine industry. "These are people who want to make their own schedule and may want to take two hours off to have fun and then go back to work. That's difficult to do in the city," says Steven Mor- rison, a lawyer with Farris Vaughan Wills & Murphy LLP in Kelowna. As part of his practice, Morrison has worked start- ups for the past two years. "You go from the begin- ning and they are looking at incorporation, financing and investment. You watch them go to the next part and also get involved if they are selling," he says. "It is really exciting and you feel you part of a team." Morrison says an advan- tage for entrepreneurs derived from the firm's multi-offices in B.C. is the ability to draw on a range of expertise. "We have had quite a few lawyers working with them and lot of part- ners before this big boom and the radar went off on the industry." An indication of how prevalent the Okanagan has become in the tech sector, says Morrison, is the July appointment of Raghwa Gopal, CEO and founder of Accelerate Okanagan, to B.C.'s new 14-mem- ber Emerging Economy Task Force on technology development and growth. Entrepreneur and startup specialist Gopal is involved with growing new businesses through Accelerate Okana- gan, which works with entre- preneurs providing support services. (Pushor Mitchell LLP's Blair Forrest, who also handles technology com- panies, is a board member along with Macaulay.) Whiteboard Law's James Mutter, who handles cor- porate, commercial and technology law as well as advises on financing, began representing technology companies in 1991 as a part- ner for Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP and organiz- ing a large Vancouver tech- nology practice. Intrigued by the whole process, he stepped away from law and became involved in a startup as a partner in 2000 (the company was later sold). "It

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