Greg Tereposky likes a challenge. Whether that is cycling to work daily through the icy streets of Ottawa in winter, or pursuing an area of law that he was told by senior practitioners would never give him enough cases to practice full-time in. For Greg, this attitude and drive has paid off.
After 30 years of practice, Greg has been publicly acknowledged as "one of the world's top WTO litigators”, has created a trade law database for users around the world, and co-founded a successful boutique international trade and investment law firm.
Greg grew up and attended law school in British Columbia. While at UBC, he did not say no to intimidating opportunities. Greg got involved in the 1989 Jessup International Law Moot, not only for the challenge, but also to leverage the competition in Chicago as an opportunity for a ski trip to Utah. Unfortunately, there was not much time to hit the slopes as his team competed through each round and won the worlds.
Around that very same time, the Government of Canada was implementing the first modern international trade agreement, the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement. Greg was hired to assist as a Canadian trade policy officer. He spent a year immersed in international trade issues. Since this was the beginning of the private sector international trade law practice in Canada, he got in on the ground floor and as the area developed his practice grew as well.
Greg’s legal career is unique because he wears two hats as a practicing lawyer and developer of legal tech tools.
Greg developed and runs a leading legal research tool for international trade disputes called TradeLawGuide. In parallel, he established a small boutique law firm that focuses on international trade and investment litigation. These two businesses complement each other in the sense that his law practice is international as are the subscribers to the database.
In 1999, when the internet was still in its infancy and “legal tech” was a far-off concept, Greg created his database TradeLawGuide. He created it because he needed a research resource within his law firm and there were none available at the time. Since existing software did not meet his needs, he designed the database, including its algorithms, from scratch, and ultimately was granted a US patent for the design.
In 2009, when he recognized other lawyers' interest in such a database, he turned his in-house resource database into a worldwide subscription resource. Although there was interest in the database, the demand at first was hesitant. For some in the legal industry, technology and the internet were still being interpreted as sorcery. Further, because technology was still such a novel tool and lawyers were hesitant to change comfortable business practices, many lawyers were skeptical to spend time and money investing in a database.
After spending years creating awareness and proving his database's advantages, Greg’s investment into TradeLawGuide started paying off. His database is now used around the globe by universities, governments, law firms, consulting firms and others thereby defying the traditional methods that were once idolized in the legal world.
As a practicing international trade lawyer, maybe unsurprisingly, Greg often physically practices internationally and is called on last minute trips all around the world. During one of his off-work vacations, after spending days hiking the world’s largest cave in Vietnam without cellphone service, Greg had to jump on a plane to Oman with only one wrinkled suit for a next-day client meeting.
Greg also gets to meet lawyers and government officials around the world through his database. His global network means that he has meetings at all times of the day due to the various time zones. He wakes up early in Ottawa to speak with the UK and Australia and works late into the night when meeting with Mexico.
The databases and his practice complemented each other, and their synergies enhanced and helped grow his practice into one with a global footprint. In 2017, his current firm Tereposky & DeRose was established with like-minded partners and associates. The partners came from big law backgrounds and wanted to create a firm that best suited their lifestyle and promoted well-being. As a boutique, the law firm conforms to the needs of their practices, not the other way around. The firm’s culture highlights the importance of enjoying your firm and co-workers. They often have afternoon Suzy Q Donuts (some of Ottawa’s best donuts), wine and cheese nights and team activities like the Diefenbunker escape room.
Outside of his legal work, Greg values the importance of having a balanced lifestyle. He not only stays active by hiking around the world but has been cycling to his office year-round for the past 25 years.
Yes, even in Ottawa’s infamous -40C icy weather!
For those interested in tackling the Canadian winter by bike, Greg’s Fatbike with studded tires has kept him from biting the dust one too many times.
Greg could never have imagined where he would end up and always finds something new and interesting to learn about through his practice and clients. The hardest part of loving your job is finding something you never get bored of. Greg managed to create a career that constantly fascinates and challenges him in the face of impracticality.