OUR HISTORY
Straith & Company was founded by William ("Bill") T. Straith
in 1939. Mr. Straith was called to the British Columbia Bar in 1922 and began a long and distinguished
career in law. He also served as a Member of the BC Legislative Assembly for the
Victoria City constituency from 1937 to 1953.
In 1972, Mr. Straith was one of three lawyers honoured by the Law Society of British Columbia for 50 years
at the Bar. At the time, he confirmed that while he had retired from politics, he had no plans to retire
from law. "It is a most interesting life and I can certainly recommend it. I would do it all over again.
Each case is different from the one before. I still find law as interesting as the day I started out."
Mr. Straith continued to enjoy each new case until his death in 1980.
Our firm has provided legal services continuously from the 1940s to the present with many lawyers a part of our team.
In the late 1960s, an articled student, Michael B. Ellis, was hired. Mr. Ellis passed the Bar exam in 1968 and
practiced law with Straith & Company until his retirement at the end of 2007. In addition, Michael D.W. Young
joined Straith & Company in 1963 and practiced with our firm until his retirement in 1994. He also served as
Mayor of the City of Victoria for the period 1975 to 1979 and was a member of the boards of the BC Heritage Trust,
BC Ferry Corporation and the National Parole Board.