Since being called to the British Columbia bar in 1966, Mitchell Gropper, QC has been a leader in the business law world.
After earning his BA and LLB from the University of Saskatchewan, Mr. Gropper spent 28 years at the Vancouver offices of McCarthy Tétrault LLP where he served as Managing Partner from 1988 to 1990. In 1998, he joined Farris LLP where he currently practices as a senior member of its business and corporate law group. He also holds an LLM from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Over the course of his distinguished career, Mr. Gropper has been the recipient of numerous awards recognizing his expertise in areas such as mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and securities, and corporate commercial law. In 2012, he received a Zenith Award from Lexpert naming him one of Canada’s 40 leading lawyers. He has also been named one of Canada’s 40 “Deal-Makers,” one of Canada’s 100 most creative lawyers and one of Canada’s 100 leading cross-border transaction lawyers, making him one of only three people to have been recognized in all three categories.
Mr. Gropper is also a leader in his community, serving as chair of several organizations in the Vancouver Jewish community as well as an advisor to the committees established to create plans for a national securities commission in Canada. He has served as a director of Diversified Royalties Inc., Catalyst Paper Inc., Crew Gold Inc., and Concert Properties Ltd. and is currently the Chancellor, and a director of, University Canada West and a member of the Project Assurance Committee for the BC Hydro Site C Dam.
In May 2020, Mr. Gropper was appointed Chair of the Dean’s Advisory Committee for the Peter A. Allard School of Law’s Centre for Business Law, a vibrant intellectual hub for the scholarship and practice of business law and financial policy within Canada and internationally. Mr. Gropper joins a list of esteemed members of the legal profession to have held the role since the Centre began in 2006.
“Like many educational institutions across the country, the current pandemic has brought forward a number of challenges. To have the leadership and wise counsel of Mitch at a time like this will serve the Centre well,” Michael J. Korenberg, Chair, UBC Board of Governors, said at the time Mr. Gropper’s appointment was announced. “We are fortunate to have his wisdom and extra engagement as we navigate through to better times.”
The appointment comes as part of a longstanding relationship between Mr. Gropper and the Allard School of Law. His past contributions to the school have allowed the Faculty to engage in a meaningful way with the profession. Mr. Gropper was also named founder of the annual faculty exchange program between the Allard School of Law and the Faculty of Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.