Peggy Sanders and her husband Ralph have been fixtures in the Edmonds business and social community for years.  The couple lives downtown, and they love attending local events and concerts or just walking the downtown streets. You may have met Peggy at the free law clinics held at the old Edmonds Senior Center, or perhaps at her place of business, the Sanders Law Group (SLG), which opened in 2014 and operated at the corner of 3rd and Dayton through June of last year.

“Home was just one long block from my office,” she said. “It was an easy walk to work, and with Ralph as my office manager we had a wonderful situation.”

But the general pandemic-related slowdown and the demolition of the senior center building brought changes that prompted Sanders to re-evaluate her business and suspend her pro bono work. (Note: with the opening of the new Edmonds Waterfront Center, the monthly legal clinics have returned and are now operated by Snohomish County Legal Services).

But it was a “serendipitous” call from a long-time lawyer friend in June 2021 that got the ball rolling.

“She called to commiserate about just having lost two attorneys from her firm, Northwest Elder Law, and as an aside asked me if I might be interested in joining her,” explained Sanders. “I thought about it, and it really seemed like the right opportunity at the right time. I could free myself up from the day-to-day work of running a six-person law firm, I could bring along my existing clients, the workspace was nice, and the company would still be there when the time eventually comes for me to retire. Plus, I’d be doing what I love — helping older clients with a host of legal services from simple wills to powers of attorney to living wills to estate planning. All the pieces seemed to fit, so in June of last year I closed the Sanders Law Group and moved my professional life to the Northgate offices of Northwest Elder Law.”

But over the next nine months she found that the reality didn’t match up to her expectations.

“First and foremost, it was harder to represent my Edmonds clients from an office in Northgate,” she explained. “Northwest Elder Law focuses more on Seattle and King County, and besides, my Edmonds clients just didn’t want to have a lawyer who was based in Northgate. Edmonds is a very loyal place, and folks here like to keep their businesses, doctors, dentists, restaurants…and yes, lawyers…local. And at the end of the day, I’m an Edmonds kind of person and I found myself really missing being embedded in the community and serving my clients from my Edmonds base.”

This prompted a search for a new Edmonds location, and Sanders was fortunate to find the perfect space just off Highway 99 between the Swedish Health campus and Edmonds’ increasingly vibrant International District. Her new firm, Sanders Elder Law, will operate out of the same building as the Will Chen CPA, PLLC firm at 22322 76th Ave. W.  She plans to run it as a solo practice – just herself.

“No empire building,” she added with a laugh.

While the new office will open officially on May 1, Sanders is already up and running, serving her clients out of temporary space in First Financial Northwest Bank’s Salish Crossing location.

“I’m really pleased to be part of the increased emphasis and activity along Edmonds’ stretch of Highway 99,” she said. “It’s an exciting area to be in right now, and I expect the vibrancy to grow with the planned street and sidewalk improvements, the opening of the new neighborhood city hall, and the prospect of new housing. Plus, I just love being back in Edmonds. Now that I’ve got my business here again, I’m never gonna leave!”

As before, Sanders will focus on older clients.

“Working with seniors and helping them figure things out is so satisfying for me,” she added. “I truly believe that working with elders is my calling.”

It was her own experiences with her mother that originally brought her to practice elder law.

“Mom was suffering from dementia, and I spent a lot of time with her in the last months of her life,” she recalled. “During this time, I often thought that she could use the advice of a good lawyer who specializes in elder law. And you know the old adage: When you see a job, it’s yours! That was the spark that gave birth to the Sanders Law Group. We opened our doors in 2014.

“I especially love working with 80- to 90-year-olds,” Sanders continued. “They’ve done amazing things and have fascinating stories to tell.”

Sanders is fond of relating how she met the original Rosie the Riveter, and had one client who lived in London through the blitz in World War II and had stories of sheltering in underground stations while bombs fell in the streets above.

“If you need to figure out the documentation you need for your next phase of life – wills, powers of attorney, probate, estate planning, I’d love to help you out,” she said. “I strongly believe that people in their later years need and deserve top-notch legal services to protect their assets, provide for their increasing medical needs, preserve their independence and provide for assistance when independent living is no longer safe or appropriate.”

Learn more about Peggy Sanders and Sanders Elder Law here.

— By Larry Vogel