Craig Blackmon, Attorney at Law

A narrow focus on residential real estate

The firm is a solo law practice in Seattle, and its work centers on residential real estate. Craig Blackmon runs it. The firm covers two sides of the same subject: the deals that hand a home to its next owner, and the disputes that surface when a deal goes wrong. That narrow focus is unusual for a law firm, and in my opinion it is the clearest signal a prospective client can take from the firm's website.

The firm helps people sell a home, including sellers who list for sale by owner. It also helps buyers purchase a home without using a real estate agent. On the litigation side, Blackmon handles real estate disputes, including breach of contract claims and adverse possession. One firm covers both the paperwork of a sale and the fight that can follow it.

The attorney behind the firm

Blackmon graduated from the University of Washington School of Law and began practicing law in Seattle in 1999. He started at a large firm as a civil litigator. In 2005 he left to open his own solo firm, and he narrowed the work to residential real estate.

That path matters for a client trying to judge fit. He carries courtroom experience from the large-firm years, and he has spent the time since 2005 applying it to a single field. As a reviewer, I read that as depth in a defined area rather than a general practice that handles real estate alongside many other things.

Transactions and disputes together

Helping a sale close

Most people meet a real estate lawyer at one of two moments: when they are trying to close a sale, or when a sale has already broken down. Blackmon works at both. On the transactional side, he helps sellers and buyers close a home deal without an agent. That means preparing and checking the documents a sale depends on and flagging the legal terms a buyer or seller might otherwise miss. A person who skips the agent still has to get the contract right, and this is where a lawyer steps in.

Handling a dispute

When a residential matter turns into a legal claim, the firm can take it through each stage. The website describes work that begins with a demand letter and can carry through a lawsuit, trial, and appeal. Blackmon points to Hanks v. Grace, a reported case, as part of that record. A reported decision sits in the public record, so this is one of the few claims a reader can verify without taking the firm's word for it. That kind of proof counts on a directory that puts evidence ahead of advertising.

The for-sale-by-owner focus

Blackmon founded FSBOLawyers.org, a group of lawyers who offer a lower-cost route than hiring a real estate agent. The idea fits the rest of his work. A seller who wants to avoid an agent's commission still needs someone to handle the contract and disclosures correctly, and a lawyer can do that. This suits a homeowner who is comfortable managing the sale but wants legal cover on the parts that carry risk.

He has also spent time inside the brokerage world he now offers an alternative to. He became a licensed real estate broker in 2009 and belonged to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service until 2015. That license is now inactive. Having worked on the broker side, he understands how a listing runs, which can help a client selling a home without an agent for the first time.

What a prospective client should weigh

This is a one-lawyer firm, and that shape carries trade-offs a reader should name. A client works directly with Blackmon rather than being handed to an associate or a paralegal. That can mean steadier communication, since the person handling the file is the person who answers. For many people that direct line is the reason to hire a solo lawyer in the first place. The other side of it is capacity, because a solo attorney takes on a set number of matters at a time.

The firm stays candid about scope. It keeps to residential real estate and does not claim to cover commercial deals, family law, or other fields. In my opinion that restraint works in the firm's favor, because it tells a client what they are getting before the first call.

For someone in the Seattle area buying or selling a home without an agent, or facing a dispute over a residential property, the firm lines up closely with that need. Blackmon's history shows a lawyer who chose a lane in 2005 and has stayed in it. A reader who wants a generalist with a broad menu will look elsewhere. A reader who wants focused help on a home transaction or a property dispute will find a firm built for exactly that.