Davidson, Kilpatric & Krislock PLLC

Our firm's lawyers have been serving their clients and community for nine decades. The firm traces its roots to the arrival of Al and Mary King in Kirkland in the 1930's. Both graduates of the University of Washington Law School, Al and Mary decided to make Kirkland their home and the site of their law firm, King & King. At that time, Kirkland was a small town, but the hub of activity on the Eastside. It had only one lawyer. Al and Mary were soon busy in their law practice and Al was appointed the justice of the peace for the area. When World War II broke out Al joined the Army and Mary took over the duties of the justice of the peace. After the war, Al returned to his law practice and used his skills to improve local government. He formed a fire district to provide emergency services to the unincorporated area around Kirkland and a water district to provide it with public water. He was elected to the city council where he advocated for instituting the city manager form of government, which Kirkland and many other neighboring cities enjoy today. He worked with a group of lawyers and political leaders to form a new government to provide a regional sewer treatment system and clean up Lake Washington, which became known as King County Metro.

In 1974 Ken Davidson, a recent graduate of Duke University Law School, joined Al and Mary in their law practice as they were entering semi-retirement. Unfortunately, King, King & Davidson suffered the unexpected loss of Al in 1975 to a heart attack. Ken took over Al's practice and encountered a growing demand for legal services as the Eastside population expanded. He recruited Bob Czeisler to join him in 1976 to meet that demand. As King, Davidson & Czeisler continued to grow, they added Dan Kilpatric to the firm in 1979.

When Mary King retired in 1981, the firm became Davidson, Czeisler & Kilpatric and moved its offices to the new Park Place complex. For the next three decades, the firm represented clients throughout Washington in a wide variety of cases and at all levels of the court system. Lawyers in the firm carried on Al and Mary's tradition finding ways to serve the greater community. Ken was elected president of the East King County Bar Association and led its efforts to form the Eastside Legal Assistance Program (ELAP), which today fields over 200 volunteer lawyers and a staff of attorneys to provide civil legal services to low-income residents of the Eastside. Dan also served on ELAP's Board and as its president and firm lawyers have volunteered regularly at its clinics. Dan and Ken have taken cases to the appellate courts for the ACLU to vindicate important rights of speech and privacy. In 1994 Ken was appointed by the State Supreme Court to the newly formed State Access to Justice Board charged with coordinating legal aid programs and making the civil legal system more accessible. His service of 5 years on the Access to Justice Board included one year as its chair. Ken was then elected to the Board of Governors of the Washington State Bar Association. His service to the WSBA also included chairing its in-depth study of the death penalty. For his public service, Ken was awarded the WSBA's Award of Merit in 2007, its highest honor.

With the addition of Dylan Kilpatric and Bryan Krislock in 2012, the firm has truly entered its third generation of lawyers committed to exceptional quality of work and service to clients and the community.

Locations	No. of Attorneys
Kirkland, WA	6

Practice Areas	No. of Attorneys
Corporate - General	3
Immigration	3
IP	1
Litigation	3
Litigation - General (consumer)	2
Litigation - Medical Malpractice	2
Real Estate	3
Trusts and Estates	1