James J. McDonald

I had a nightmare of a purchasing situation . An estate sale with 3 siblings in different states with strong emotional ties to the house for sale. They hired the cheapest and laziest lawyer in the state to handle the sale. There was asbestos, non working plumbing, a questionable oil tank disposal, w...ater damage and nobody alive who could answer questions ( about a lovely house.) We hired Jim, who saw us through the whole thing with confidence and calm. There was a lot of money at stake and Jim made sure we got a solid and great resolution to the whole deal. We got a very fair deal - Jim made sure our interests were represented across multiple issues. It was extremely time consuming - but he got us to conclusion . When I think of the closing of our house, I smile when I remember Jim's competent hands guiding the process. I would hire him again in a minute for anything important, as I completely trust his competence, his knowledge, and his professionalism. If you want a calm and completely competent ( and aggressive where needed) and ethical hard working lawyer to see you through your house closing, you will be happy working with Jim McDonald.

Mr. McDonald handled both the closing of the sale of my mother's house and the purchase of my home. I found him to be extremely professional and knowledgeable. Both he and his staff returned my calls quickly and everything went off without a hitch. Both closings had issues to be addressed and Mr. M...cDonald was always ready for any issues that arose. I would not hesitate to use him again nor would I hesitate to recommend him to my family and friends. I am confused by the other two reviews but I would have to wonder if they were the same person as "they" both used the word Utterly in the review...not a commom word ...seems suspect to me...do I smell sour grapes?

Jim McDonald was assigned to handle the closing of my first home. I can't image having had a worse experience. His knowledge of my file was incomplete and on the day of closing I had to remind him of several key parts of the agreement he had forgotten. Furthermore, when I asked for additional advi...se on a matter related to the closing, he was not difficult to reach but the conversations melted down to a frustrating series of messages culminating in a heated, rude and unprofessional exchange. I successfully handled the matter without his advise an excessive and fruitless fees. I went with his firm based on my real estate agent's "advice" which basically consisted of a quick look at a list and finding out he was one of the few available attorneys, at the time. I can only image that much of the business he retains is due to unknowing customers, like me, being shuffled toward the next available vendor. I would NOT RECOMMEND this man for any legal transaction. Please do yourself a favor and research your closing attorney. Generally, they are there to point to the bottom of a page for your signature but if you have a legitimate question, they better be able to provide reasonable advise for the fees they take for granted.