Canadian Lawyer

12 J u l y 2 0 1 4 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m T he sky is literally the limit with a law degree, as lawyer Keith Routley has shown over his four-decade career, and it's got nothing to do with scaling the heady heights of ivory towered law firms. Today, he's an employee with VIH Helicopters Ltd. and involved in other aviation ventures such as developing the Bob Quinn Lake Airport in north-western British Columbia, a role combining his passions of aviation with a bird's eye view of B.C.'s resource development. Routley eschews courtroom work in favour of getting both aircrafts and projects off the ground. "I was always more excited about a project than what his honour might think of my submis- sion," he says. Routley trod an unconventional career path since Day One. "I took five years to do a three-year law program," he says. A friendly UBC law school dean recognized Routley "marched to his own drum" as he was racking up 700 hours towards a tug-master's ticket between years of study. Routley saw the law as formed from hands- on activities rather than a product emerging from a corporate office. As a student in 1973, he presented a paper on salvage law at the first North American Tug Convention in Vancouver. Graduating in May 1976 and articling in his hometown Port Coquitlam, he worked the tugs to earn enough to open a one-man shop in 1977 in nearby Pitt Meadows. For the next eight years — after adding partner Thomas Sprague in 1979 to do court work — he did general law in Pitt Meadows. But, life was missing something. Near the end of dissolving his law partnership in 1985 and "running out of gas," he wanted new challenges. He accepted a 1984 appointment by the Solicitor General of Canada as independent chairperson at Correction Canada's Matsqui medium security institution. "I was the jail house judge at Matsqui for 17 years," he says. "The last 15 years, I was appointed the senior independent chairperson for the Pacific region." The work was interesting and challenging. University of British Columbia law professor Michael Jackson's book Justice Behind the Walls outlines the work Routley did. In 1985, Routley also got his pilot's licence, purchased a plane, and was deepening that connection back to industry he was miss- ing. "I used to fly from Ft. Langley every Tuesday and Thursday to Victoria to work with Vancouver Island Helicopter Ltd. [now VIH Helicopters]", says Routley. After selling his practice in 1985, Routley had been drawn to the financing side of the aviation industry. A Vancouver Island Helicopter executive at a luncheon lamented the struggle to collect receivables in an industry where big-ticket items can down a busi- ness in six months. Routley offered to help and started flying to Victoria two days a week to collect accounts. In three months, he had made an impact — even bringing in a $160,000 outstanding helicopter services debt. Routley quickly found the Achilles heel in bill collecting. Most businesses rely on sales staff to collect outstanding accounts. "It was really coun- terintuitive to them," says Routley, as salespeople are focused on selling rather than collecting and don't want to jeopardize a client relationship. He also found he enjoyed the work, the people, the companies, and the projects unfolding. "People realized I was someone they could do business with," he says. That also impacts how a company RegIonal wRap-up the sky's the Limit Keith Routley's passion for aviation has become part of the legal work he does. Get convenient access to all the current legislation in one convenient resource. • Full text of all key statutes and regulations as selected by an experienced practitioner • Rules of the British Columbia Labour Relations Board and the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal • Up-to-date coverage incorporating all the latest legislative developments • Easy identification of legislation not yet proclaimed into force New Edition Consolidated British Columbia Labour and Employment Law Statutes and Regulations 2014 Available risk-free for 30 days Order online: www.carswell.com Call toll-free: 1-800-387-5164 In Toronto: 416-609-3800 Order # 986108-65203 $119 Softcover approx. 1740 pages May 2014 978-0-7798-6108-8 Shipping and handling are extra. Price(s) subject to change without notice and subject to applicable taxes. 00221CJ-A44898

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