Christopher Swerling McDonagh

Christopher Swerling McDonagh

5.0
Rating: 8.9

Licensed for 31 years

Lawsuits and disputes Lawyer at Sarasota, FL
Practice Areas: Lawsuits & Disputes, Real Estate, Contracts & Agreements ... +3 more

1543 Second Street, (Available by appointment), Sarasota, FL

About Christopher

Biography

Practice Areas

6

Practice Areas

Real Estate 20%

29 years

20%
Business 10%

31 years

10%

Fees and Rates

Cost

Hourly Rates

$ 250-250 per hour


Looking for an attorney? Avvo can help.

search module image

Search our directory

Quickly connect with top attorneys through our legal directory to get help with your legal issue.

chat module image

Avvo's live chat agents can help coordinate a consultation with a local attorney.

Chat with a live agent who can match you with the right attorney for your legal needs.

Chat with

Licenses

Licensed in Florida for 5 years

State: Florida

Acquired: 2020

Member in Good Standing

No misconduct found

Licensed in Arizona for 29 years

State: Arizona

Acquired: 1996

Active

No misconduct found

Licensed in California for 31 years

State: California

Acquired: 1994

Inactive

No misconduct found

Location

Band Law Group P.L.

1543 Second Street, (Available by appointment), Sarasota, FL, 34235

Ad

Transform legal challenges into solutions.

Connect now to review your situation.

The Avvo Rating explained

display-bg

The Avvo Rating explained

Christopher Swerling McDonagh's Reviews

Avvo Review Score

5.0 /5.0

5 Client Reviews

Filter Avvo Reviews (5) Refine reviews to match your needs. Use the filters to quickly surface reviews that align with your case or priorities.
Star rating
5 stars 5
4 stars 0
3 stars 0
2 stars 0
1 star 0

Showing 1 - 5 of 5 reviews

Posted by Nathalie | February 05, 2016 | Hired Attorney

Team player and highly professional

We are from Canada and we were looking forward to buy a franchise business in Arizona. Mr McDonagh had to work closely not only with us, but with our immigration attorney, the franchiser, the sellers and the escrow agent. We were impressed by his ability to coordinate the communications between all p...arties. He always delivered quick responses to every one. We also want to mention his tremendous professionalism. He is very knowledgeable and we felt we could count on him. We would strongly recommend Mr McDonagh to anyone!

Posted by Susan | July 15, 2015

Business and real estate sale

On short notice, I contacted Chris McDonagh while involved with the sale of my business and office building. While I had hired a supposedly highly experienced business broker, I felt there was a need for an attorney review. Turns out that it became a lot of work for Mr McDonagh to keep up with all ...the work my broker didn't do or did wrong. Mr McDonagh is thorough, professional, courteous and extremely knowledgeable. He was on top of a very fast-paced situation and gave me a sense of satisfaction in knowing that my interests were being protected. He kept me informed every step of the way. I would highly recommend Christopher McDonagh for anyone needing an extremely competent and responsive attorney.

Posted by Kevin | October 08, 2014

Professional and thoughtful attorney.

Only had a consult, but truly a professional and extremely thoughtful person who demonstrated a superb knowledge of real estate law. He looked thoroughly at the documents, I sent him and provided an plan of action. I wanted to use him, but since my case was in Phoenix, I was concerned about the dis...tance, only to find out after I had already signed with another attorney that he does not charge for travel time to Phoenix. Again, thank you Mr. McDonagh for taking a look at our case.

Posted by anonymous | August 23, 2012

Responsive Beyond Belief!

I discovered I needed an attorney located in Arizona to prepare documents for a transaction I was doing 4 days prior to it closing. I contacted an acquaintance in Arizona and she referred me to Mr McDonagh. I called Mr. McDonagh's office and he called me back the next day. We discussed my situatio...n and what I needed. He agreed to complete the work for me and although he was working on other projects, he completed everything I needed by the end of that business day in time for the closing that was scheduled the next day. I found Mr. McDonagh to be very professional and knowlegable and very caring, empathetic and responsive to my needs. And his work was organized, thorough and accurate.

Posted by anonymous | March 10, 2011

Highly professional

I used Christopher McDonagh and was highly impressed by his legal expertise, his ability to navigate the legal world and his work ethic. I would highly recommend him to anyone.

See All Client Reviews

Christopher Swerling McDonagh's Lawyer Endorsements

Endorse Christopher

No Endorsement Data Available Yet
This attorney hasn't received any attorney endorsements recently on Avvo.

No Endorsement Data Available Yet
This attorney hasn't created any attorney endorsements recently on Avvo.

Experience

Rating:  8.9 (Excellent)

Honors

2017

AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell conducts an anonymous peer review rating. AV Preeminent® is a registered mark of ReedElsevierPropertiesInc.

2010

BV Distinguished® peer review rated, Martindale-Hubbell conducts an anonymous peer review rating. BV® is a registered mark of ReedElsevierPropertiesInc.

Work Experience

2007 - Present

Shareholder, Raven & McDonagh, P.C. (formerly Raven, Clancy & McDonagh, P.C.)

2003 - 2007

Of Counsel, Raven, Awerkamp & Clancy, P.C.

1997 - 2002

Associate, Rusing & Lopez PLLC

1996 - 1997

Associate, Edwards Kofron Ketcham & Egbert, P.C.

1995 - 1996

Legal Consultant, Faltz & Associes (Luxembourg)

1993 - 1994

Associate / Law Clerk, Bodkin, McCarthy, Sargent & Smith

Associations

2020 - Present

The Florida Bar

1996 - Present

State Bar of Arizona

1994 - Present

State Bar of California

Sample of Legal Cases

Settlement (plaintiff shareholders)

Settlement

Settlement (investor)

Settlement of securities fraud, RICO, and aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty claims against insiders of bankrupt company in which my client had invested.

Settlement (investor)

Settlement with manager of bankrupt company regarding whether the manager owed my client a debt that was non-dischargeable in the personal bankruptcy of the manager.

Default judgment (investor)

$367,385 default judgment for joint and several liability of the corporation my client invested in, as well as the corporation’s officers that solicited the investment.

Settlement (lender)

Settlement resulting in immediate cash payment of $500,000 to my client.

Settlement (lender)

Stipulated agreement regarding disputed debt amount resulting in client’s recovery of $720,000 owed on the loans plus $25,000 attorney’s fees.

Settlement (lender)

Represented lender recovering $550,000 in foreclosure sale plus nearly the entire deficiency amount..

Settlement (lender)

Client lender's recovery of full debt plus attorney’s fees.

Settlement (lender)

Pursuant to the settlement, my client received partial payment upon settlement, scheduled payments, and in addition to the judgment liens, both judgments were secured in part by new deeds of trust on real estate.

Settlement (lender) - nondischargeable debt

Bankruptcy Court order that the entire amount of the debt the LLC manager owed my client is non-dischargeable under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A) and/or 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(4).

Settlement (lender)

Settlement fully secured by a new deed of trust on the controlling shareholder’s primary residence, which resulted in client’s receipt of the $85,000.

Settlement (borrower)

Bank refinanced my client’s $586,425 loan balance at a lower interest rate and paying my client $39,284 (for a wrongly charged $14,000 prepayment penalty and my client’s attorney’s fees).

Settlement (distributor)

$143,771 settlement for client of claims against international grower/exporter.

See More Legal Cases

Education

2004

University of Arizona College of Law

LL.M - Master of Laws

1994

USC Law School

JD - Juris Doctor

1989

Duke Univ

BA - Bachelor of Arts

Speaking Engagements

2015

Arizona Real Estate Investors Association

Fair Housing and Premises Liability

2014

Arizona Real Estate Investors Association

Disclosures in Arizona Real Estate Transactions

2012

Arizona-Mexico Commission Cross Border Real Estate Symposium Regulation of Ownership by Foreign Nationals in Sonora and Arizona

2012

7th Annual Landlord-Tenant Law (Surviving in a Difficult Economy) Leases, Tenant and Landlord Rights & Obligations

2010

2010

2009

State Bar of Arizona Real Property Section Luncheon

Dangers of Not Having Title or a Bank Trust for Mexican Real Estate

Publications

1995

Mergers & Acquisitions Valuing a Target's Ability to Compete in the Market

1995

Offshore Trusts: The Comparative Law Yearbook of International Business — Special Issue Luxembourg

Languages

English

Activity

Avvo Rating

Our Rating is calculated using information the lawyer has included on their profile in addition to the information we collect from state bar associations and other organizations that license legal professionals. Attorneys who claim their profiles and provide Avvo with more information tend to have a higher rating than those who do not.

What determines Avvo Rating?
  • Experience & background Years licensed, work experience, education
  • Legal community recognition Peer endorsements, associations, awards
  • Legal thought leadership Publications, speaking engagements
  • Discipline Disciplinary information may not be comprehensive, or updated. We recommend that you always check a lawyer's disciplinary status with their respective state bar association before hiring them.
Avvo Rating Levels
10.0 - 9.0 Superb8.9 - 8.0 Excellent7.9 - 7.0 Very Good6.9 - 6.0 Good5.9 - 5.0 Average4.9 - 4.0 Concern3.9 - 3.0 Caution2.9 - 2.0 Strong Caution1.9 - 1.0 Extreme Caution