Gordon graduated from the University of Washington Law School in 1953 and was admitted to the bar that year. After serving as a Law Clerk for Supreme Court Judge Frederick G. Hamley and a brief stint in private practice, he joined the office of the Seattle Corporation Counsel as an assistant, ultimately specializing in land use. In 1971 he was admitted to the bar of the United States Supreme Court. In 1988 he was appointed to the Shorelines Hearings Board as a representative of the Association of Washington Cities. When he retired from the City in 1989, he became an alternate member of the SHB. He now serves as a land use hearing examiner for various public agencies.