The Suit Magazine

Andrea Riccio entered the field of law with a vision – to eliminate the tension between practitioners of law and the clients they are supposed to serve.
As the Managing Lawyer at Kre8tive Law Group, he has been pursuing that goal despite resistance in the legal community. “Sometimes I feel like I’m swimming upstream,” he revealed.  But the proof of his success and integrity is evidenced by the continued loyalty of his clients.

Riccio asserts, “[Our practice] is more of a solicitors’ practice than a litigators’ practice.  We focus on keeping our clients out of court.  Our firm leverages technology, not people.”

The firm’s expertise is in corporate and commercial real estate, as well as intellectual property law. Riccio is licensed in the provinces of Ontario and Alberta and relies on independent contractors to help out on large deals. The carefully assembled teams have represented clients in deals ranging from $500,000 to $15 million. One highlight of Riccio’s career was being retained by a large European beverage company. He also gets great satisfaction from the firm’s ability to handle many cross-jurisdictional transactions.

Riccio dreamed of being a lawyer when he was in school. He graduated from the University of Alberta with a great deal of experience in moot court, and got his start practicing law on Bay Street in Toronto. After five years, Riccio moved back home to Calgary, where he worked for a commercial firm for three years. This experience encouraged him to open the predecessor to Kre8tive Law in 1997. He had noticed tension between the traditional way of practicing law and the way in which his clients would prefer law to be practiced. Riccio felt that this did not have to be the case, and his several years of success have proven him right. He acknowledges that being an advocate for change is challenging; however, his clients strongly appreciate his work, and they reward him with their loyalty.

Riccio says that the effects of the financial crisis have not all been bad for his business. According to him, “The economic downturn has spurred Canadians to begin buying up more property in Palm Springs, Arizona, and Las Vegas.” Riccio also believes that entrepreneurship is critical to getting the economy back on track. “It is the only way that Canada and the United States are going to generate new jobs,” he asserts. “Some of the manufacturing jobs will never come back. New thinking and new industries are needed to put us back on top.”
Riccio is very excited about new innovations at Kre8tive Law Group. They are in the process of launching an online platform that he believes will revolutionize the legal profession. According to Riccio, online technology will allow legal firms to provide quality representation for start-ups and small businesses who cannot afford the current prices in this tough economy. Riccio says, “The rules and regulations have not caught up with the technology. The United States is far ahead of Canada in adjusting their regulations.” He believes that more people in the industry should take advantage of the benefits that technology offers them.

Riccio is optimistic that his firm will be able to overcome the regulatory hurdles facing the launch of their online project, and looks forward to the service taking off in popularity.

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