914 THE ADVOCATE
VOL. 79 PART 6 NOVEMBER 2021
landing in Cincinnati, Ohio after it was filled with smoke because of a fire
in the lavatory. Twenty-three passengers, including Bob’s colleague, were
killed. Thereafter, Bob always knew there was more to life than work, and
he lived his life accordingly, always making time in his busy schedule to
spend time with his family.
On November 1, 1984, Bob, Rick Goepel and Tim Maledy, together with
a newly called associate, Nancy Wilhelm-Morden (now Q.C.), opened the
doors of Watson Goepel Maledy. The firm had come together quickly. Less
than a month earlier, Bob, Rick and Tim had gone to lunch at the original
Don Francesco on Richards Street. Five hours and too much wine later, they
had decided to start a law firm. They were all young and naive and had little
understanding of the challenges they faced. Thirty-seven years later, Watson
Goepel continues to thrive. Without Bob’s leadership and steady hand,
it never would have survived.
By the late 1980s, Bob’s practice had imploded. Changes to the Income Tax
Act had decimated tax shelters. Bob’s response was not to mope. It was not
his style. Though he had not conducted a trial in years, he got himself
retained to take on a major accounting firm in a professional negligence
action arising out of advice given to a group of individuals to invest in a tax
shelter. After 42 days of discovery and 47 days of trial, Bob’s clients were
awarded a substantial sum: Haida Inn Partnership v. Touche Ross, 1989
B.C.J. No. 1186 (S.C.).
By the time the case was over, Bob had rebuilt his solicitor practice. He
put away his gowns and did not return to a courtroom for more than 20
years.
Bob was the best partner you could ask for. Whatever the issue, he could
find a solution. If you had a client with a problem, you knew with great confidence
you could refer the client to Bob and the client would get good and
valued advice and be satisfied with the result. For example, two weeks after
the firm opened its doors, Rick received a call from a client in Ontario for
whom he had previously done some work. The client told Rick they were
thinking of buying ICBC’s General Insurance division and asked if he knew
anything about buying an insurance company. Although he knew
absolutely nothing about buying an insurance company, Rick assured the
client the new firm could assist because he just knew Bob would be able to
handle it. Two weeks later, the clients came to Vancouver. Bob and Rick met
them for dinner. At the dinner, Bob asked if he might take some notes. The
dinner concluded at about 11:00. Bob headed back to the office. At 9:00 the
next morning, he presented the client with a proposed letter of intent.
Within 48 hours, an agreement in principle had been reached, and Bob