Former Vegas Golden Knights enforcer Ryan Reaves has long been known for his hard hits on the ice.
Knowing his pro hockey career won’t last forever, Reaves began several years ago looking for his first big hit in the business world.
That motivation led to the creation of 7Five Brewing, a Las Vegas-based beer company Reaves owns.
When Reaves incorporated the company in 2018, local attorney Tim O’Reilly and his team at the O’Reilly Law Group assisted with that process. O’Reilly, a former Bishop Gorman and UNLV football player, developed a niche within his practice to cater to pro athletes.
“I was told by someone that Tim was one of the better lawyers in Vegas,” Reaves said. “We sat down with him, and he stood out. He seemed like the person who would get the job done for us. It turned out that I was right in picking him.”
Reaves came to the Golden Knights from Pittsburgh in 2018 and quickly became a fan favorite. Though he was traded to the New York Rangers in July, Reaves said his beer company will remain grounded in Southern Nevada, where he plans to continue to spend much of his time during the offseason.
And even though he’ll be playing hockey in New York this season, Reaves said O’Reilly will remain his business adviser.
After graduating from UNLV with a degree in hotel administration in 1999, the former Rebels kicker attended the Boyd School of Law with plans to become a sports agent. But he eventually followed a path that led him to his father John O’Reilly’s law firm.
In a roundabout way, he’s something akin to a sports agent today, though he still performs many other duties at the firm, including trial litigation.
“There are so many professional athletes coming to Las Vegas now,” O’Reilly said. “I thought that these guys need some help in some areas. Their business is sports, so why not capitalize on what they’re doing outside of the sports arena?”
Due to attorney-client privilege reasons, O’Reilly declined to list the athletes he works with, but he said he helps them with real estate transactions, commercial properties, and starting and operating small businesses.
“Being a lawyer, you’re in the service business, so you have to be responsive,” O’Reilly said. “The hours can be awkward sometimes, but that’s part of it. Athletes are so hyper-focused on their craft, they don’t always have time for these things. When they call, you have to be available.”
O’Reilly said he believes he’s been able to build trust with his athlete clientele in part because of his own athletic background. He finished his four-year UNLV career with 109 points.
“College isn’t the same as the pros, but you’re still in the trenches in college,” O’Reilly said. “A lot of athletes, when they enjoy success, have problems finding who their real friends are, who their trusted advisers are. Athletes find out they have more friends than they ever knew they had. People want to piggyback off their success.”
Reaves, who will likely retain a strong Southern Nevada following based on his popularity here, said he’s had situations like that come up in Las Vegas. It’s important, he said, to have advisers who won’t try to take advantage of his fame and financial success.
“People can see your notoriety, and they will try to take advantage,” Reaves said. “Whenever people ask me who I have as my lawyer, I give them Tim’s number and say, ‘This is the person you need to work with.’ I’ve met other lawyers in Vegas, and I’m not saying they’re not good, but Tim is definitely one of the best.”
O’Reilly said he owes much of his success to his father, a former chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission. After spending time working in California after law school, Tim O’Reilly said he recognized the opportunities that would be available to him if he settled in Las Vegas.
That’s exactly what he did, and he has watched the city continue to mature from what was essentially a small town in the 1990s to a burgeoning major league sports city.
“We are a sports mecca, but we’re also a business mecca,” he said. “I get a call or two per week from people wanting to move their business here or start a branch here. As long as all of these sports franchises play fair in the sandbox, I think we’ll be alright. This is a land of opportunity.”