Tri-Citian of the Year Coke Roth’s storied Tri-Cities career takes a new turn
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- Coke Roth merges his 30-year legal practice into Gravis Law.
- Gravis gains continuity of Roth’s client base and mentorship for younger lawyers.
- Roth framed the deal as practical protection for his staff and thousands of clients.
Coke Roth, once the Tri-Cities’ largest distributor of Northwest wines and then a prominent attorney, is not retiring.
He is, however, merging his 30-year legal practice into Gravis Law, a Richland firm with 22 locations and a national profile.
“This is not retirement,” said Roth, 76. “Call me on a Saturday or Sunday at the office.”
Roth will move out of his longtime office on Gage Boulevard to a cubicle in the Gravis quarters at The Parkway in Richland.
He’s thrilled to do so, reveling in jokes that he’s surrendered his independence to become a W-2 wage earner who had to navigate the unfamiliar world of “onboarding” in order to work for “The Man.”
“It’s really a wonderful move. I’m very, very pleased,” he said.
“The Man” is Brett Spooner, founder and CEO of Gravis, who transformed a small local legal firm into a growing powerhouse by bringing in independents, such as Roth.
The partnership will deepen Gravis’ commitment, ensure continuity for Roth’s clients and enlist a mentor for the next generation of attorneys, Spooner said.
Roth called a move a practical one.
In Gravis, he saw a way to ensure his thousands of clients and his two employees are taken care of if, or when, he’s no longer able to work.
“They work very hard for me and allowed me to make a good living. I owed them more than a paycheck,” he said.
For now, not working is not an option.
Neither Roth nor his wife, Mary, a longtime Kennewick CPA, plan to retire, he said.
The latest change is just the latest twist in a storied career that began in the beer and wine trade, not the legal profession.
In 1973, fresh out of college, he joined his father in the family distributorship.
He moved to Kennewick in 1975 to take over the local branch. He established himself as a community leader, perpetual volunteer and wine industry booster who founded wine festivals and was always game to judge wine competitions.
In 1987, he was named both Kennewick Man of the Year and Tri-Citian of the Year.
The career change came a year later when his father became ill and the distributorship had to be sold.
In 1990, he enrolled in law school in Tacoma, figuring a legal degree would help his business career.
He hadn’t intended to become a practicing attorney, according to a Tri-City Herald profile. A summer job with a Kennewick law firm changed his mind.
He earned his law degree in 1993 and was admitted to the Washington Bar that November.
Roth said the decision to merge with Gravis came about through his friendship with Spooner, who is also a trusted colleague.
He considered the move three years ago, then had second thoughts and backed out.
More recently, he and his wife joined Spooner and his wife for dinner.
Roth teased Spooner that if he’d been a better salesman, Roth would already work for him. That reopened the conversation.
They made it official in September when they signed a bar napkin.
A bar napkin?
“It’s a fancy bar napkin,” Roth said.