Attorneys

Ralph Scheuer, Mel Yost and John Patterson established the present Scheuer, Yost & Patterson in 1993, bringing together three attorneys who each had been practicing law in Santa Fe for approximately two decades. Ralph Scheuer practiced primarily in the areas of business planning, estate planning, wealth management and real estate transactions and development. Mel Yost practiced primarily in the areas of civil litigation and alternative dispute resolution. John Patterson practiced primarily in the areas of banking law and real estate transactions. The three of them combined to establish a well rounded civil practice that provided quality services to their individual and corporate clients, and established the reputation of Scheuer, Yost & Patterson as a well respected and highly experienced Firm.

Charlotte Hetherington joined the firm as a partner in 2003, bringing with her a practice in municipal finance, her general counsel representation of educational institutions and her real estate litigation practice. In 2006, Tony Ortiz, formerly a partner of Castille and Ortiz, became of counsel and added his practice which includes the representation of educational institutions, municipalities and other governmental entities, as general counsel and litigation counsel. 

The three original partners established a general civil practice that has grown to a Firm of ten attorneys while maintaining an emphasis on providing high quality legal representation. The Firm is rated "AV" which is the highest rating of quality for law firms, and is listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. The transactional department of Scheuer, Yost & Patterson emphasizes real estate and commercial transactions, estate planning, business planning and formation, banking law and tax planning. The litigation department represents clients in general civil litigation with an emphasis on real estate and commercial litigation. The Firm also has a education law practice that provides legal services to educational institutions as well as representation in municipal finance issues. The Firm's diverse group of attorneys provides a wide variety of legal services and representation to individuals, institutional and corporate clients.