[4] Driven by the fact that British Columbia did not allow individuals of Chinese origin to practice law, Yip moved to Toronto with his future wife Victoria Chow upon the completed his studies at UBC.

He maintained a private legal practice in Chinatown where he flourished, due to his fluency in three Chinese languages, the fact he was the only Chinese-speaking attorney in Toronto at the time, and because he was a man who "gave personal care and attention to his clients".

[2][4] Yip was highly respected by other lawyers, recognized as a person of integrity and role model; he was also fondly remembered as a man with an encyclopedic knowledge, as comfortable discussing classical literature as he was debating intricacies of law.

[2] In addition to his 47 years assisting Chinese residents with their legal needs, four decades of that spent working out of store-front offices in Chinatown, Yip served two terms as a Toronto Board of Education trustee for Ward 6 in the 1970s.

[2][4] In 1985, he played the role of tong leader, Milton Bin, in the movie Year of the Dragon starring Mickey Rourke.

[3] In 1994, at the age of 87, Yip received special recognition from Ryerson University as the oldest student in their continuing education program, studying Shakespearean English by correspondence.