History

The firm was founded in 1903 by John Wallace Debeque Farris when he arrived in Vancouver and secured work as the first City Prosecutor.

In 1917, Farris was elected to the provincial Legislative Assembly and was later appointed Attorney General. Upon returning to private practice he flourished, attaining such prominence within his profession that governments and clients outside British Columbia retained him for appearances before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and the Supreme Court of Canada – a rare accomplishment for a Western Canadian.

His talent as a barrister attracted others of equally high calibre. This resulted in many of his partners achieving high court appointments.

Farris was appointed to the Senate in 1937 but continued to appear in court almost daily until a few years before his death in 1970 at the age of 91.

In the 1950s and 1960s, John L. Farris assumed his father's position as the pre-eminent barrister in the province, while partner Ernest B. Bull developed a significant corporate and commercial practice. Throughout this period, the firm attracted a broad range of clients, from individuals and small businesses to some of the largest public institutions and private corporations, forming the foundation upon which the firm has continued to grow and diversify.

Masterful . . . innovative . . . powerfully influential: words once used to describe Senator Farris offer an accurate description of the character and qualities of the firm today.

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