A Snohomish native, Anthony Baxter has always loved the scenic beauty and community that has given him lifelong relationships, so when he decided to open his own law practice in 2017, Baxter Legal Services was a natural fit. Now, Anthony serves alongside his wife, Julie, who is the firm’s secretary, and his daughter, Elli, the firm’s paralegal.
By working together as a family, there is a smooth continuity and personal aspect to each interaction with clients. “You have three people who are all focusing in the same direction on your matter,” says Anthony. “We each have our individual slices of pie, for sure, but we have an interconnectedness that I don't think you get with non-family members.”
In the early days of his legal career, Anthony mainly focused on corporate law, but he soon realized that Snohomish needed someone local to provide representation for small businesses. Those connections naturally expanded to other areas. Today, Baxter Legal Services works with clients in various areas of business law, such as new business set-up, contract preparation and review, and lease agreements, as well as personal matters such as wills, trusts, power of attorney, and other areas of probate law.
Ultimately, Anthony helps clients protect their assets and the people closest to them. “They are very similar in that it's all about asset protection, whether that is business, estate, or personal assets,” Anthony explains.
For Anthony, every day is about more than paperwork; it’s about understanding his clients’ needs and guiding them toward the best choices for themselves and their families. “Whether it's probate estate planning or business law, the main focus of what they are doing is their family,” Anthony says. “I understand how important family is because it's our central focus here too. We are also a family business, which makes us better able to relate to our clients. I'm doing what I'm doing for my family and they are doing what they’re doing for their family.”
A large part of Anthony’s role is to equip clients to make the best decisions for their situation. “I like teaching clients about how it all works, whether that's business law, estate planning, or the probate process, so that they can be educated and empowered to make their own decisions,” says Anthony. “Instead of telling them what to do, I prefer the approach of giving them options so that they can make an informed choice.”
Estate planning is something that impacts everyone at some point and it is an area where having legal guidance makes the process so much easier. “The biggest issue is the complexity of the system. With probate and estate planning, in particular, there are a lot of nuanced rules that are specific to Washington State,” Anthony explains. “General research or resources might not touch on those nuanced complexities, but they are critical, so it's very important to have an attorney or an expert in that field to help you navigate through the process.”
Because estate planning is a civil matter, documents drawn up without legal review may contain mistakes that are caught too late, causing confusion or delay in the follow-through of a person’s wishes. “You can proceed through doing something incorrectly, have no idea it was done incorrectly, and there isn't an entity there to tell you it is wrong or needs to be done a certain way. When you do it on your own, you don't have any of those guide rails that you'd have if it was a non-civil area of law,” says Anthony. “It's also interesting to note that there is a lot more to law than just the black and white letter of the law. There are case precedents that come into play, procedures and local court rules, and all these other layers of rules that you might not have thought to look into as a person just trying to research it from the outside.”
Baxter Legal Services also strives to cultivate the best possible experience by ensuring open and clear communication. “When I first started the business, I didn’t have any family in the legal field, so I didn’t have a pattern to follow,” shares Anthony. “So I asked anybody who ever interacted with an attorney what were a few things they did not like about their experience. Over and over again, I heard that lack of communication was one of the biggest things that drove people crazy. That’s one of the reasons why Julie joined me, to allow us to answer clients when they call or shortly thereafter, return a message. It really adds value to our representation of clients.”
Anthony understands that to best serve his clients, there must be a relationship founded on trust. So he offers a free consultation to make sure clients are comfortable with him before they enter into any type of agreement. “I think having time to get to know one another is important because representing someone in the legal field is a very personal representation,” he explains. “I'm asking about finances and what you want to happen after somebody passes away, which are very private things. So I like to make sure that we're a good fit before we start doing business together. It's no risk or commitment on the client's part. We can sit down, talk, and see if we connect. It’s also a great opportunity for people who maybe wouldn't otherwise ask an attorney questions to have time to do so.”
Baxter Legal Services is located at 17614 West Main Street in Monroe. To connect with Baxter Legal Services and set up a free consultation, call (425) 686-0574 or fill out the contact form at baxterlegalservices.com. You can also check out the firm’s blog or follow Baxter Legal Services on Facebook.
"I understand how important family is because it's our central focus here too."
"I like teaching clients about how it all works, whether that's business law, estate planning, or the probate process, so that they can be educated and empowered to make their own decisions."