Member Growth Story: McMillan LLP’s Bruce Chapple on Strategic Expansion and Opportunity

As part of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade’s Agenda for Economic Growth – The 3% Challenge, we’re spotlighting members who are helping drive real growth in British Columbia and beyond. For Bruce Chapple, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner at McMillan LLP, economic growth isn’t just a macroeconomic metric, it’s a catalyst for innovation, expansion, and client success.

In this conversation, Bruce reflects on how McMillan LLP is advancing its role as a trusted legal and strategic partner through investments in people, new capabilities, and a bold vision for the future.

How do you think about economic growth in the context of your business?

Economic growth is a very powerful engine of opportunity for our clients and us. At McMillan, we see it as a driver to help clients realize their ambitions—whether that means riding the wave of accelerated innovation that comes with such growth or capturing market share or expanding into new markets or new market segments. Our role is to ensure clients are positioned to capitalize on this growth momentum with confidence and great advice.

What are company initiatives or work that contribute to reaching 3% growth that you would like to highlight?

In 2024, we expanded our legal team by approximately 10%—an amazing year of growth that underscores our ambition and momentum. While we don’t expect to sustain that pace annually, the talent we have acquired and developed has put us in a great position to continue to support our clients and to continue on a steady, sustainable growth path. We are in the people business, and this was a strategic investment in great people to help clients seize opportunities across local, national and global markets—reinforcing our role as a trusted partner in their continued success. This growth also enables us to advance firm-wide initiatives—such as cross-practice collaboration, innovation in service delivery and deeper sector alignment—that directly contribute to our ability to support our clients’ growth.

From your perspective, what would help unlock more growth in your sector?

Unlocking the next wave of growth in the legal sector will depend on three key drivers. First, greater economic stability—particularly around trade policy and tariffs—would reduce uncertainty and create a more predictable environment for business. At the same time, that very complexity continues to generate demand for high-value legal insight.

Second, legal technology is poised to accelerate growth by improving efficiency and scalability. Generative AI and other legal innovations will reduce low-value tasks and allow legal advisors to be better prepared and to focus on the value-added elements of their advice.

Finally, culture remains a critical growth enabler. When teams are engaged, collaborative and supported, they deliver better outcomes for clients—and that directly translates into stronger performance and long-term growth.

What kinds of opportunities could greater economic growth create for your industry?

Economic growth fuels all kinds of opportunity for law firms. Law firms thrive when businesses are active. This translates into increased activity across nearly every practice area, and every specialty, but particularly heightened demand in M&A, corporate finance, lending, regulatory compliance and international business—all of which require sophisticated legal support.

Looking specifically at the Canadian economy, the government’s new focus on nation building projects is a real opportunity, including the ambition to be an energy superpower. These projects increasingly require Indigenous participation, both as rightsholders and partners, reinforcing the importance of legal guidance that ensures the partnerships or arrangements are commercially sound and are structured with integrity, respect and long-term value. In addition, regulatory advice on such projects will be of paramount importance.

In this evolving landscape, McMillan Vantage—our public affairs subsidiary—plays a critical role. By integrating government relations, strategic communication and campaign expertise with our deep and broad legal services and knowledge of our clients’ businesses, McMillan helps clients navigate increasingly complex regulatory environments and rightsholders expectations and stakeholder dynamics. This seamless collaboration enables us to deliver integrated multi-layered solutions that support clients’ objectives through every stage of project development and execution.

Lastly, growth enables us to invest and reinvest in our people—expanding teams, developing talent and broadening our service offerings. These investments strengthen our ability to support clients across British Columbia and Canada, ensuring we remain a resilient, forward-looking partner in their continued success.

As we work toward bold and achievable targets like the 3% growth challenge, stories like Bruce’s demonstrate the powerful role business leadership plays in driving long-term prosperity. Explore the full Agenda for Economic Growth – The 3% Challenge and see how leaders like McMillan LLP are shaping the future of our economy.