Staff
Ruth Emily Vogel
Founding Attorney In Memoriam
Ruth Vogel practice law for over 30 years and co-founded Ivy Law Group. She worked with clients in all aspects of probate, estate planning, elder law, guardianship, and personal injury. Prior to her legal career, Ruth worked in non-profit social service agencies. Ruth volunteered at the Ballard Senior Center and provided a free legal clinic each month.
Ruth is much missed by her colleagues and clients. She is remembered for her directness and no-nonsense approach to life and law. Her contributions to her Ballard neighborhood and the larger Seattle LGBTQ+ community were immense.
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/seattletimes/name/ruth-vogel-obituary?id=13881387
Sara Longley
Senior Attorney
Sara Longley practices law in Ballard and serves clients in Seattle and surrounding areas. She focuses on estate planning, tax advising, trusts, and probate.
Sara graduated with honors from the Seattle University School of Law in 2006. She obtained her LL.M in Taxation from the University of Washington School of Law in 2013.
Sara is an active member of the King County Bar Association and a past co-Chair (2016-17) of the KCBA Solo and Small Practice Section.
Sara is a longtime Seattle resident and has lived in Ballard since 1995. Prior to attending law school, Sara was Managing Editor for the Seattle Press, a neighborhood newspaper based in Fremont and published throughout North and Central Seattle. When she is not in the office, Sara can often be found racing sailboats or designing her latest knitting project.
Business Practices
Confidentiality
All matters relating to your case are confidential. We will not share your information with anyone outside our office without your consent.
Billing Practices
We work hard to be as efficient and effective as possible. We prepare invoices about the 1st of each month. The invoice is mailed to you. It shows the amount of time we have each spent on your case that month. A more itemized invoice is always available upon request. 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.
Office Hours and Communications
Our office is normally open from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday through Thursday. Additionally, we will meet with existing clients on Saturdays. We also have a mailbox where you may drop documents after hours. Please feel free to call us whenever you have a question or need advice. If it is during business hours and we are unavailable when you call, please make sure to leave a detailed message when you call and we will return your call promptly. After office hours, we have an answering service that answers our phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The answering service will take your detailed message and page it through to our cell phones.
File Retention
During your case, we will create and receive numerous documents. It is our practice to send you all the original documents, letters, correspondence and pleadings that we receive or produce, file and/or send out. We will keep scans of all documents in a legal matter for seven years.
After five years, we shred all documents containing personal information protecting you and your privacy.
