SKSP - Key Persons
When not enjoying the practice of law, Andy is an avid baseball fan who has been known to drive through the night to watch his son play ball on the road. Andy and his wife are also in the midst of a multi-year remodel of their home and its gardens.
David has over 25 years of experience advising clients in the area of individual income, estate and gift tax, and all aspects of estate planning. He serves as a fiduciary for a number of his clients, and his commitment and expertise in the area of estate planning give his clients the confidence to entrust him with assisting and advising them in this highly personal aspect of their lives.
He often makes house calls as he feels this type of practice involves the "parlor room" more than the "board room." David considers it a privilege to serve his clients and enjoys guiding them in the process of selecting various planning techniques based on individual requirements. His colleagues honored him in 2001 by naming him one of the top 92 lawyers in Seattle, as published in Seattle Magazine.
David is a strong advocate for the preservation of the environment, and for support of the public trust doctrine. He has been intimately involved in legal efforts to preserve the historic trail on the Raging River. He is also active in the theater community and has performed in numerous theatrical productions over the years, ranging from drama to musical comedy. He has served as an officer and director of a local performing arts organization. He and his wife, a professional actress and singer, enjoy putting together community musical programs for the benefit of Hospice.
David Ketter and Ken Sheppard formed Simburg, Ketter, Haley, Sheppard and Purdy in 1984, along with Mel Simburg, George Purdy, and Jeff Haley. That firm opened its doors in 1984 as one of the first tenants of Wells Fargo Center (then First Interstate Center) in downtown Seattle. David Ketter maintained an established tax, trust and estates practice, and Ken Sheppard had returned to his native Seattle after serving as corporate counsel to the Arabian American Oil Company in New York, Houston, and Saudi Arabia, where he gained extensive business expertise. With the Departure of Jeff Haley in 1989, the firm became Simburg, Ketter, Sheppard & Purdy ("SKSP"), adding Of Counsel attorneys Andy Shafer in 2007, and Jim Jackson in 2009.
In addition to his law practice, Ken has been a successful tech startup entrepreneur, and continues to own and operate a small business enterprise, which gives him an unusual understanding of the challenges and issues facing business owners. His business clients enjoy a single, expert point of contact for all of their legal needs.
Ken is the author of Construction Liens, published by the King County Bar Association. He has presented seminar topics on International Joint Ventures for the Seattle-King County Bar Association, and on International Arbitration for the Northwest Litigation Conference in Vancouver, B.C. He has also developed a specialty in administrative laws relating to aquatic lands and the shellfish industry. Ken has Martindale-Hubbell's highest individual rating - "AV".
Ken has a wide array of outside interests and activities. He is an expert woodworker and an avid rose grower and exhibitor, a past President of the Seattle Rose Society, and an American Rose Society Judge. Ken is also a major worldwide dealer in antique lithographs of Egypt and the Middle East by the nineteenth century Scottish artist David Roberts, using his art and conservation skills to restore and color these prints. He has worked with the Tate Gallery, National Geographic Magazine, and other institutions worldwide in presenting exhibitions, television programs, and publications involving these prints. For a view of more of his work, visit the web site for his print business at www.medinaarts.com. Ken designed, constructed and maintains that web site.