About the Practice

Vander Wel, Jacobson, & Yoke PLLC provides a wide range of high quality legal services to individuals and businesses throughout Washington. Between its two attorneys, the firm provides representation in matters that encompass real estate, business transactions, trust and estate litigation, and corporate law.

Trusted Legal Counsel

Our firm encourages its clients to make the proper business and personal arrangements that are necessary to reduce the possibility that their lives will be disrupted unpredictably with contentious and protracted litigation. The adage "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" often applies in legal matters.

Strong Legal Advocates

If a dispute arises, our firm has experienced litigation counsel who rigorously defends our clients' positions. While we always examine the possibility of settlement, we serve as strong advocates for those with unresolved legal problems.

Our greatest satisfaction is having a client who is delighted with our services. We strive for excellence within the parameters of efficient representation and the highest levels of integrity.

PRACTICE AREAS

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Our
Practice Areas

Our attorneys have extensive experience in real estate litigation: including disputes over property ownership, contracts, and zoning.

Boundary Disputes
Sometimes disagreements arise over the precise locations of the boundary line between neighboring landowners. Whether your dispute involves fences, trees, retaining walls, driveways, easements, waterfront access, or even encroaching buildings, our goal is to resolve it so you can get back to living next to your neighbors in peace.

Civil Litigation

When disputes get to the unfortunate point of requiring or developing into litigation, individuals and companies need experienced litigation attorneys to serve as their advocates, whether in court, arbitration or settlement negotiations. For people who are not lawyers, however, litigation can be daunting, unnerving, stressful, time-consuming and expensive.

With the assistance of one of our seasoned litigators, our clients can better understand, manage and resolve the elevated conflict intrinsic in any litigation. We strive to boost our clients’ level of confidence and achieve genuine and tangible results that are to their benefit and satisfaction.

Contested Probates and Trusts
Disputes over the assets of a deceased loved one generally require the assistance of an experienced estate litigation attorney. Our firm has guided hundreds of clients through these difficult situations.

Real Estate Litigation
A real estate lawyer must be knowledgeable in many different areas. To properly assist property owners, a real estate attorney must understand the complexities of property ownership, rights and uses.

Our real estate lawyers handle various transactions. These include buying and selling property, evaluating encumbrances, restrictions and liens placed upon properties, and crafting provisions that comprehensively protect our clients’ interests. We work with surveyors, title companies, and escrow companies to afford you the best result possible.

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ATTORNEYS

About W. Theodore Vander Wel

Mr. Vander Wel is a founding member of Vander Wel, Jacobson & Yoke, PLLC. He is primarily a conflict management and litigation attorney focusing on real estate, business, estate and trust disputes.

When necessary, Mr. Vander Wel rigorously represents his clients in court, arbitrations, mediations and negotiations. A litigator since he began practicing law in 1988, he has assisted clients in King, Snohomish, Skagit, Pierce, Thurston, Chelan, Okanogan, Clark, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Kitsap, Kittitas, Spokane, Grant, Clark, Wahkiakum, Whatcom and Yakima Counties. In matters where settlement discussions and mediations have been unsuccessful to resolve conflicts, Mr. Vander Wel has advanced and advocated his clients’ position in bench trials, jury trials and arbitrations.

Mr. Vander Wel’s extensive real estate and land use litigation experience includes disputes involving real estate uses, transactions, boundary lines, easements, restrictive covenants (CC&Rs), adverse possession, zoning, code enforcements and real estate agents. He has also represented both plaintiffs and defendants in conflicts, lawsuits and arbitrations related to contracts, collections, consumer protection, businesses, LLCs, employment, construction, torts, foreclosures and other real estate matters. Regarding personal representatives, trustees, heirs and beneficiaries, Mr. Vander Wel has handled and tried many cases involving contested estates and trusts.

Effective attorneys must be able to simultaneously listen, take a broad view, understand intricate details and persuasively present evidence and arguments. Mr. Vander Wel has the proven ability to succeed at all these tasks.

Mr. Vander Wel has argued cases in the State Superior Courts, Courts of Appeals, Washington Supreme Court and Federal Courts. He is licensed with the Washington Supreme Court, the Western District of Washington, the Ninth Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. While most clients are charged on an hourly basis, some collections and contract litigation are performed on a contingency basis.

Mr. Vander Wel concentrated on real estate and environmental law when he studied at Drake University Law School. After serving on the Law Review, publishing two articles and receiving an award for research performed, he graduated in 1988 with honors.

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Practice Areas: Email: theo@vjbk.com

Boundary Disputes
Business Litigation
Civil Litigation
Collections
Contested Probates
Easements
Land Use
Real Estate
Zoning

Member:

Washington State Bar Association
Western Washington, U.S. District Court
National Lawyers Association
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
U.S. Supreme Court

Education:

Law School: Drake University, J.D., with honors, 1988
Member, Drake University Law Review, 1987-1988
College: Dordt College, B.A., 1985

ATTORNEYS

About Ryan Yoke

Ryan passionately represents his clients’ interests. Since joining the firm, Ryan’s practice has focused on real estate disputes and contested probates and trusts. His real estate experience includes boundary line disputes, boundary line adjustments, easements, adverse possession, restrictive covenants, eminent domain, transactions, real estate agents, nuisances, spite fences, trespass, and timber trespass. Ryan’s contested probate and trust experience includes will contests, committed intimate relationship issues, non-probate assets, Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act (TEDRA) cases, exploitation of vulnerable adults, fiduciary duties and undue influence.

Ryan joined the firm as an associate in 2014 and later became a partner. Prior to this, Ryan served one year as a judicial law clerk at the Washington State Supreme Court for Justices James Johnson and Debra Stephens.

During his time in law school, Ryan participated in a broad range of service opportunities and work experiences. He joined the volunteer tax assistance program as a certified tax preparer in rural Alaska. He also taught basic legal concepts to underserved youth at Chief Sealth High School in West Seattle as part of the University of Washington’s Street Law Clinic. Ryan's experience includes working as an APR 9 intern at the Snohomish County Prosecutor's office, prosecuting traffic infraction cases. He also worked as a summer associate working primarily in civil litigation at Ellis, Li, and McKinstry in Seattle. Before that, Ryan worked as an intern at Brayton Purcell, an asbestos litigation firm in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Before becoming an attorney, Ryan served as a field artillery officer in the U.S. Army. He deployed as a platoon leader with the 3rd Battalion 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, First Cavalry Division to Mosul and Kirkuk, Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.