Overview › Named Individuals › Ballard Law Group

Ballard Law Group, PLLC

What this page is. This page collects public records and publicly published information about a Seattle law firm and one of its partners because of a documented, public connection to the recorded instruments described elsewhere on this site: the firm is the registered agent for Gold Dust Title Company, LLC, and its partner shares the name of the notary who notarized the recorded deeds. It states documented facts and links to primary sources. It is not legal advice and makes no allegation of wrongdoing beyond what the cited public records show. The Sheriff’s matter (#26-I10572) is under investigation; no charges have been filed.

1. The firm (public listing)

Name: Ballard Law Group, PLLC — “Attorneys at Law”
Office: Ballard District, Seattle, Washington — 5418 20th Ave NW, Ste 3, Seattle, WA 98107
Phone / fax: 206-782-2111 · fax 206-782-8351
Website: ballardlawgroup.com
Attorneys listed: John Scott Hicks · George Jay Jensen Jr
Practice areas (per site): Business & commercial law, business organizations (sole proprietor, LLC, corporation), business contracts, estate planning, trusts, probate, landlord/tenant, bankruptcy & debt relief, tax relief

Source: ballardlawgroup.com (firm overview and attorney pages).

2. John Scott Hicks (partner) & the notary

The attorney (public bio)

Role: Partner, Ballard Law Group, PLLC
Email: jhicks@ballardlawgroup.com
WSBA #: 13938 · Active · admitted Feb 3, 1984
Education: J.D., University of Washington (1983); M.B.A., University of Washington; B.A., Western Washington University (1979)
Focus: Business organizations / LLC formation, property law, estate planning, probate

The notary (public record)

Name: John S. Hicks
Commission #: 194569 · Active, Seattle (King County), no disciplinary action
Commission dates: Originally issued 09/13/2017; current term 05/27/2025 – 09/01/2029 — i.e., a valid commission was in force on every 2025 notarization date
Role in this matter: Notarized all three recorded quitclaim deeds and their supporting notices/declarations

WA Dept. of Licensing notary registry; see notary verification memo.

John Scott Hicks attorney page, Ballard Law Group — John Scott Hicks, Partner, Ballard Law Group, PLLC (ballardlawgroup.com).

Same name, same city, same connection. The recorded deeds were notarized by “John S. Hicks” (#194569, Seattle, King County); the firm that is the registered agent for the related company (Gold Dust Title Company, LLC) lists “John Scott Hicks” (WSBA #13938) as a partner in Seattle; and that company advertises an “in-house notary.” Public records also place the notary and an address associated with the attorney in the same Seattle ZIP+4 (98115-3203). These public records are consistent with the notary and the attorney being the same individual. A definitive confirmation (matching the notary commission’s address of record to the firm) is a matter for the authorities.

3a. A registered-agent / business-formation practice

Public Washington business records show that Ballard Law Group / John Hicks routinely serve as the registered agent and formation contact for multiple Washington LLCs (using the firm’s email and Ballard-district addresses). Acting as registered agent and forming LLCs is an ordinary, lawful legal service — but it is also the exact service used to create the company at the center of these filings (Gold Dust Title Company, LLC). The specific other entities are unrelated to this matter and are documented for investigators in the private case file, not named here.

Web-services footprint. Gold Dust’s website is “Powered by Source Light,” and public website-account records show a shared web-administration contact appearing on both the Gold Dust site and the Ballard Law Group site. The significance of this technical overlap is left to the investigating authorities; it is documented in the private case file.

3. The documented connection to Gold Dust Title Company

Registered agent. Washington Secretary of State records list Ballard Law Group as the registered agent of Gold Dust Title Company, LLC (UBI 605 800 985; governor Douglas Shroyer; formed March 20, 2025). See the Gold Dust Title Company page.
In-house notary. Gold Dust’s own website advertises an “in-house notary” among its services; the recorded deeds were notarized by John S. Hicks (#194569).
LLC-formation practice. The firm’s public practice areas include forming LLCs and business organizations — the type of service used to create the company at the center of these filings.

4. Why this is on this site

A registered agent and the notary are the two documented, public links between the individually recorded deeds and a single Washington company. They are collected here so affected owners, their counsel and title companies, and the investigating authorities can review the primary sources in one place and verify each item at the linked source. Counsel may wish to note the potential professional-responsibility questions these facts raise; those are for the Washington State Bar Association and the authorities to evaluate.

John Scott Hicks — firm page → Gold Dust Title Company Named Individuals