About Us

Ruth Emily Vogel, Senior Attorney, has been practicing law for the last 24 years and provides representation of clients in all aspects of family law, probate, criminal law, estate planning, and personal injury. Prior to her legal career, Ruth worked in non-profit social service agencies focusing on adoption and child abuse issues.

Family Law: Ruth combines social service experience with strong litigation expertise to assist clients facing divorce, separation, parenting and custody disputes. Her goal is to help the client through the stressful legal process and achieve the best results for their family.

Estate Planning: In these evolving times of medical science and legal rights Ruth maintains a current knowledge of the law for our clients who need health care directives, wills and other estate planning documents. Ruth has given presentations on estate planning and is passionate about the need for preparedness.

Probate:  Fortunately, Washington State has a relatively straightforward probate process.  Ruth has advised clients in their role as executor/personal representative both in cases with a Last Will and Testament and those without a valid will.  When you are coping with the loss of a member of your family or a friend Ruth is accessible to help you deal with the inevitable bureaucracy. 

Personal Injury: Combining a thorough background in vehicle and traffic laws with negotiation and litigation experience, Ruth assists clients who have been injured in motor vehicle collisions.

Criminal Law: During and after law school Ruth prosecuted criminal cases for nine years . Her work included all phases of prosecution including search warrants, filing decisions, trials and appeals. She conducted over 150 jury trials in addition to hundreds of trials to the bench. Ruth brings this expertise to defending clients accused of crimes. Her goal is to minimize the impact of the criminal justice system on you by energetic negotiation and aggressive litigation.

Nathan M. Gibbs, Associate, earned his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Art from Humboldt State University and his Juris Doctorate from Seattle University School of Law. He is a member of the Washington State and King County Bar Associations. Prior to his legal career Nathan taught art and work experience at a charter high school. He also directed a program that helped former criminal offenders acquire a college degree. While in law school he clerked for the Humane Society of the United States and was involved in litigation against the federal government. Nathan has worked in both criminal prosecution and defense, arguing numerous jury trials and appeals. He is a zealous advocate and aggressive litigator. 

Angela Langer, Paralegal and Office Manager by day and law student by night, Angela provides legal support to both Ruth and Nathan. She has worked as an advocate for domestic violence survivors at the King County Superior Court, and was also a supervisor at a homeless shelter for young adults in the University District. Her interest in law lies in social justice and human rights issues, and she hopes to someday work full-time counteracting social oppression.

Business Practices

Confidentiality
All matters relating to your case are confidential and your information will not be shared with anyone outside our office without your consent.

Billing Practices
We work hard to be as efficient and effective as possible. We prepare invoices on about the 25th of every month. The invoice is mailed to you and it shows the amount of time we have each spent on your case that month. A more itemized invoice is always available upon request. A couple of days after invoicing we transfer money from your trust account (in which your retainer was deposited) and "pay" your invoice. You are then sent a statement which will show the amount you have remaining in your trust account. It is our goal to provide as much information to you as needed to keep you apprised of your account with us.

File Retention
During the course of your case we will amass numerous documents. It is our practice to send you copies of all documents, letters, correspondence and pleadings that we receive or produce, file and/or send out. The purpose of sending you copies is to keep you informed as to the status of your case. Applicable law may forbid attorneys from providing copies of certain items that may be in a client's file, such as police reports. At the conclusion of your case we will close your file. You will have the option of requesting additional copies of documents, but you should already have a complete set. We typically keep files for approximately five years and upon destruction, shred all documents containing personal information protecting you and your privacy.