The most widely read magazine for Canadian lawyers
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50842
regional wrap-up T he March merger of Vancouver- headquartered Farris Vaughan Wills & Murphy LLP with Kelowna-based Petraroia Langford LLP may at fi rst glance seem like a buy-in to a tourism area for senior partners to putter about a few accounts between golf rounds, but nothing could be further from the truth. Rather, it's a sign of the times, a new way of doing business in this new age of con- nectivity as entrepreneurs choose not to live in the Vancouver region. "Since Bill Gates has shown he can run one of the largest companies out of Redman, Wash., there is a whole group of entrepreneurs who have gone to plac- es where they fi nd it congenial to live, and that now includes the Okanagan [Valley]," says Far- ris chairman Keith Mitchell. "We have an internal vision to the pre-eminent law fi rm in B.C. and to accom- plish this we can not only be located in the Lower Mainland." The new money these entrepreneurs bring is not insig- nifi cant. Last year, Petraroia Langford, alsong with Stikeman Elliott LLP, handled the $700-million sale of Club Penguin to Walt Disney Co. The children's interactive web site was origi- nated by Kelowna-based New Horizon Interactive Ltd. "That was a major trans- action on a Canadian basis. We have done other transactions that have been sizeable for the Okanagan," says Dominic Petraroia, 48. He and partner Ross Lang- ford will now be the managing partners of the new Farris offi ce. Keith Mitchell Petraroia realized early that regions outside Vancouver held potential. Born in Italy in 1959, he emigrated to Canada at six months old with his parents, set- tling in North Vancouver. He graduated from the University of British Colum- bia's law school in 1987. He worked for Vancouver's Clark Wilson LLP until 1991, when, at 32, he and wife Sharon, a now-retired teacher, looked to Kel- owna for a local fi rm that could provide opportunity. Petraroia joined Pushor Mitchell LLP. Four years later, William J. Thiessen urged him to join forces and begin forging a major business law fi rm in the Okanagan. It was the good oppor- tunity, as Thiessen planned to retire over the next decade. Ross Langford joined home to a large juice pany, fruit com- for- estry, and an agri- cultural sector. New tourist resorts were being built and the area also attracted many wealthy retirees and families. "I had also noticed that sizable companies and many of the area's leading families were sending work down to the coast," said Petraroia, adding it was "totally un- derstandable" as they felt they needed that level of expertise. "I saw that one day down the road, a national or regional fi rm would make a move into the Okanagan. I didn't know if it would be 10 or 20 years away, but the plan was to create a law fi rm that could seize that opportuni- ty," he tells Canadian Lawyer. Petraroia often Dominic Petraroia to replace him and more lawyers were added to grow the offi ce to seven. Petraroia noted two trends while build- ing a business law practice. The Okana- gan was booming. Kelowna's population was 106,707 in 2006 but its retail or trad- ing area drew in approximately 450,000. It was a burgeoning wine centre and spends breakfast, lunch, and dinner, four days a week, networking in local social and business organizations. He served as president of the Central Okanagan Foundation, the Cen- tral Okanagan United Way, the Okanagan Symphony Society, and as vice president of the local chapter of the Urban Devel- opment Institute. He has also served as a director of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce and is currently a direc- tor of the General Hospital Foundation. "We have been very active in the Oka- nagan Science & Technology Council [fostering new technology companies]," he says. Langford especially has taken a www. C ANADIAN mag.com APRIL 2008 7