Seattle Lawyers | Attorneys At Law | Guardianship | Seattle Estate Planning | Special Needs Trust

Our Attorneys

KAREN MARIE THOMPSON is a 1977 graduate of the University of Washington School of Law.  She has been in private practice since 1980 and is a partner in the law firm of Thompson & Howle.  Her practice focuses on elder law:  representing individuals and professionals in complex guardianships, probates, long-term care planning and drafting and administering special needs trusts.

She was designated one of 92 “Top Lawyers” by the publication Seattle magazine in 2001, 2003 and again in 2005 based upon a peer survey.  She is a frequent speaker at seminars, law school classes and conferences on guardianships, ethical issues in elder law and special needs trusts.

SUZANNE C. HOWLE was admitted to the Texas bar in 1980 and the Washington bar in 1982. After serving as briefing attorney and law clerk for the appellate courts of both states, she entered private practice with her current partner, Karen M. Thompson. Since 1984 Suzanne Howle's practice has emphasized guardianship, probate, estate planning, and representing fiduciaries in various roles. Suzanne Howle chaired the King County Guardian ad Litem training seminar for 1993, co-chaired the King County Guardian ad Litem Training Seminar for 1995, and has participated as a presenter almost every year since.

She is frequently asked to speak at continuing legal education seminars and other community events. She co-authored the guardianship section of the King County Probate and Guardianship Manual published in 1995 and edited the updated Manual in 2002. She is past Chair of the Elder Law Section of the Washington State Bar Association, and is past President and Director of the Washington Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.

THOMAS KELLER is "of counsel" to the Seattle law firm of Thompson & Howle, where his practice emphasizes complex probates and guardianships, estate planning and business transactions. Mr. Keller is a CPA and a past chairperson of the Real Property, Probate & Trust Section of the Seattle-King County Bar Association and the Estate & Gift Tax and Continuing Education Committees of the Washington Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Mr. Keller was born in Reno, Nevada, on November 10, 1951, and admitted to the state bar in Washington and to the U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington in 1977, the U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit and U.S. Tax Court in 1979, and the U.S. Supreme Court in 1981. His education was at the University of Washington (B.A., cum laude, 1973; J.D., 1977). He is a member of the Seattle-King County and Washington State Bar Associations, the Washington Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Estate Planning Council of Seattle, and the University of Washington Estate Planning Board.

Mr. Keller's probate and guardianship practice has included the representation of hundreds of estates and guardianships and mediation and litigation related thereto. Mr. Keller has been a frequent speaker on matters of estate planning, probate and guardianship. Mr. Keller's commercial practice includes the formation of corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships and limited partnerships, and all issues related to the on-going business of these entities.

Mr. Keller was named one the best lawyers in Seattle by SEATTLE MAGAZINE in its January-February, 2001 issue, and a “super lawyer” in Washington by WASHINGTON LAW AND POLITICS in its August-September, 2001 issue.

Mr. Keller makes his home in north Seattle where he resides with his wife and three children.

She is also a member of the Idaho State Bar. She has been in private practice since 1988. She has spoken at legal seminars on the areas of her practice.
 

KAREN I. TREIGER is a graduate of Barnard College and New York University School of Law, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review.  Earlier in her career, Karen served as a Legislative Assistant to Senator Slade Gorton in Washington D.C., specializing in health policy and worked at Davis Wright Tremaine in the area of business law.

Karen’s current practice focuses on elder law issues, such as estate planning, long term care planning, guardianships, will contests, probates and special needs trusts.  She is a member of the KCBA Guardianship and Elder Law Section and the WSBA Elder Law Section and has four children.

CAROL VAUGHN practices in the areas of guardianship, trusts and probate litigation. She is a graduate of Smith College (1983; magna cum laude) and Harvard Law School (1986).

Carol was a legal aid attorney with Evergreen Legal Services from 1986 - 1995 and with Northwest Justice Project from 1998 - 2004. In 2003 she was awarded a Wasserstein Public Interest Fellowship from Harvard Law School. She is admitted to practice in the Western and Eastern Districts of Washington and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.