BPE Law's Keith Dunnagan said the pandemic accelerated the firm’s expansion to Reno.
Courtesy Photo
For a few years, BPE Law Group in greater Sacramento has noticed a growing trend with many of the businesses and individuals it represented: They were moving to Northern Nevada.
“For the past several years, we’ve had a lot of clients looking at Reno and relocating to Reno,” said Keith Dunnagan, managing shareholder at BPE Law Group.
Dunnagan said the business-friendly climate of Nevada and booming economy of Reno-Sparks has contributed to a wave of companies moving from the Golden State to the Silver State.
In response, the firm followed suit. In January 2021, BPE Law, which has a strong focus on real estate, business and estate planning, officially extended its reach into the Biggest Little City, opening an office at 10775 Double R Boulevard in South Reno.
“You look at the movement of businesses and your clientele, and natural expansion markets, and we saw a natural fit,” Dunnagan said. “Between our clients and other opportunities there, Reno made a ton of sense.”
Not to mention, the pandemic has made it easier for companies to quickly uproot and relocate without missing a beat thanks to remote working technologies.
In fact, Dunnagan said the pandemic accelerated the firm’s expansion to Reno. Notably, BPE Law is still headquartered in greater Sacramento (specifically, Gold River), but the firm is looking at potentially moving its HQ to Reno “if the opportunity presents itself,” Dunnagan said.
“It’s no secret that it’s very, very tough to do business in California,” he said. “And there’s a reason why contractors, developers, retailers and manufacturers are moving to Nevada. And you watch your clients make that move, and in order to facilitate their services it makes sense.”
What’s more, Dunnagan said Northern Nevada’s “massive amount of growth and development” brings the law firm opportunities to expand their service network in greater Reno-Sparks.
Dunnagan said BPE Law Group’s Reno office currently houses one full-time lawyer and two other attorneys licensed in Nevada and California that split their time between offices. In all BPE Law currently has about 23 full-time employees, he noted.
In two to three years, the firm expects to be in a bigger Reno office with six full-time employees, “if the market develops the way we project,” Dunnagan said.
A few months into having a presence in Northern Nevada, Dunnagan said BPE Law is already encouraged by the support the firm has received from residents and the business community.
“You’re coming in, you’re providing a service, you’re bringing benefits to the community and they want to help you succeed,” he said. “Because they recognize that if you succeed, the society succeeds and the local community succeeds. We’re all investing in each other together.”
