About Thomas E.
Thomas E. Gates built a professional path that crosses technical training and legal practice. He is an attorney licensed in Washington who brings an engineering background to legal work. His career reflects that combination of disciplines.
Gates began his academic life at Kansas State University, where he earned both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in civil engineering. He completed the B.S. in 1979 and the M.S. in 1981. After several years, he returned to school and earned a Juris Doctor from Seattle University School of Law in 2001.
Following law school, Gates entered the Washington bar and established his practice in the state. He works from Gates Law, PLLC. His training in civil engineering came before his legal studies and continues to inform how he approaches problems. That technical grounding helps him read plans, reports, and complex technical records with an eye toward practical detail.
Colleagues describe Gates as pragmatic in his approach. He tends to break complicated subjects into concrete questions and then address them methodically. In client work he focuses on careful preparation and clear explanation. He handles litigation-related tasks and transactional matters where technical record review is important. He also advises on regulatory and compliance issues that involve engineering or infrastructure topics.
Outside the office, Gates has remained engaged with developments that intersect engineering and the law. He keeps up with changes in state rules, technical standards and case law that affect how technical evidence is presented and used. That ongoing attention to both technical and legal material informs how he prepares cases and counsels clients.
At Gates Law, PLLC, he maintains a practice centered on matters arising under Washington law. He represents clients from the office in the state and continues to integrate his civil engineering background into the legal work he does today.
