McDonald Hopkins is an entrepreneurial law firm founded in 1930 on practical business values that are as relevant today as when we first began. Our team of over 270 attorneys, paralegals and professionals work collaboratively to help businesses achieve their goals. Our firm shares the same entrepreneurial spirit as our clients, and we are invested in and care about their success. We’ve earned a reputation as the Destination Firm for companies seeking outstanding legal insight and sophisticated yet practical business advice. By remaining dedicated to customized, responsive and proactive client service for 95 years years, we’ve built long-standing relationships with clients who, we’re proud to say, are intensely loyal and confident in us. Each of our attorneys has the experience, understanding, and skills to give you the strongest legal options for your business, the knowledge to guide you through the challenges you face, and ability to give you meaningful advice and recommendations. We are clear, creative, complete, cost-effective, and dedicated achieving the best possible results for you and your business.

Business Department Dave Gunning, Chair When you are looking for legal services, you want attorneys who care as much about your business’ success as you do. With our firm, you have the expertise of attorneys in multiple disciplines at your disposal to assist you in guiding your business. This means you get strategic counseling and legal advice customized to meet your needs. Our attorneys capitalize on years of experience and creative problem-solving to help your business overcome its challenges and achieve success.

Litigation Department

Michael Latiff, Chair

Focusing on your business is important when confronted with or pursuing litigation. Our priority is the successful and efficient handling of your critical business issues. We’ll work with you on the front end to develop solutions and safeguards against claims. However, when the need for litigation assistance occurs, we have a deep bench of attorneys ready to defend your business, including an exceptional array of trial, arbitration and mediation experience involving high stakes litigation.

Strategic Advisory & Restructuring Department David Agay, Chair As strategic advisory and restructuring lawyers, we enable our clients to achieve their business and legal objectives. We provide more than legal advice – we partner with clients and their teams to formulate and implement global solutions. Our practice ranges from advising companies in addressing governance, and balance sheet, liquidity, and operational challenges; to avoiding and resolving business disputes and other issues; to advising sellers and financial and strategic buyers on transaction alternatives and structures; to advising lenders and other creditors on financing and other decisions. Almost all our engagements are multi-faceted, addressing business, corporate and litigation strategy, as well as labor, employee benefit, tax, intellectual property and other issues.

Intellectual Property Department

David P. Cupar, Chair The singular focus of our intellectual property department is to help you stay a step ahead. We provide powerful, cutting-edge legal and business expertise across all facets of intellectual property law. Our team of experienced intellectual property attorneys delivers a comprehensive range of innovative solutions and insightful industry expertise across a diverse group of technical disciplines. Every client’s needs and goals are different – but with our hands-on, in-depth approach you get a team of attorneys who understand your business and provide customized service designed to meet your needs.

Tax and Benefits Practice Group David Kall, Chair Tax planning needs to be strategic. Working together with other advisors, we help clients develop comprehensive business and tax plans, identifying the most effective solutions to meet financial goals. Our experience in all areas of federal, state and local taxation gives us the ability to provide strategic counseling when assisting with tax-related legal issues.

Estate Planning and Probate Practice Group

Michael Witzke, Chair

The services our Estate Planning & Probate practice group provides primarily involve wealth transfer. Whether working with clients who have accumulated a small nest egg or hundreds of millions of dollars, we assist in ensuring their objectives are accomplished by developing tax-efficient and cost-effective strategies for wealth transfer between spouses, family members, friends, or in support of charitable organizations. We are motivated to help our clients achieve their wealth transfer objectives with their peace of mind being the ultimate result.

Corporate Advisory & Governance Practice Group

Benjamin Panter, Chair

Whether you are a director, officer, business owner or a senior executive, you need strategic perspective, technical knowledge and practical advice to be confident in your executive compensation and governance decisions. These decisions are not just about managing costs and people – they are about attracting, retaining and motivating the right talent to achieve your business objectives. Our attorneys will work with you to ensure your company can make effective, strategic compensation decisions. With a balanced approach, we’ll help you develop programs that protect and promote the interests of the enterprise and its stakeholders

Real Estate Practice Group

Jason Smith, Chair

Whether you are looking to acquire real estate, secure construction and permanent financing, negotiate architect and builder contracts, develop commercial or residential projects, or negotiate a lease, our integrated team of real estate attorneys can help.

Public Law Practice Group

Teresa Metcalf Beasley, Chair

We bring together attorneys who have a broad range of experience working in the government arena, whether as elected public officials at the county, state or local level or as counsel to individuals, businesses, nonprofits and local, state and federal government entities. Our experience with government relations combined with our legal expertise and deep bench strength across multiple practice areas and markets allows us to provide insightful legal solutions and guidance to our clients. We also utilize our solid relationships with public officials and their staff in a strategic and effective matter, whether we are lobbying for change in a policy or ensuring a fair and effective procurement process.

Healthcare Practice Group

Elizabeth Sullivan, Chair

For over 50 years, our firm has provided legal service to individuals and entities in the healthcare industry. Today, our diverse, national practice enables us to provide a unique perspective on the issues you face in the rapidly changing healthcare environment. We utilize our knowledge of the business, financial and operational components of your industry to deliver value beyond traditional legal services.

Commercial Finance Practice Group

Jason Smith, Chair

Our Commercial Finance team represents various financial institutions and financial service providers, including banks, insurance companies, commercial lending entities, hedge funds, private equity funds, and mezzanine and subordinated debt lenders. Our real estate, tax, restructuring and other attorneys support our finance practice by providing the specialized expertise necessary to represent our clients on complex transactions throughout the life of the loan. We have significant expertise in asset-based financings. multi-state, multi-currency and cross-border secured financings, financings secured by unusual types of collateral, real estate financings, ESOP financings, healthcare financings, floor-plan financings, bridge financings, letter-of-credit facilities, interest rate swaps, leveraged acquisition transactions, and tax preferred financing.

Mergers and Acquisitions Practice Group

Christal Contini, Chair

McDonald Hopkins’ full-service M&A practice understands the goals of its business owner, founder and entrepreneur clients. Our firm is committed to providing an integrated approach to M&A, and our M&A team works seamlessly with attorneys in tax, executive compensation, finance, employee benefits, intellectual property and restructuring to provide business focused solutions to complex deal issues. We understand the importance of balancing risk with a client’s focus on closing a transaction.

Government Compliance, Investigations, & White Collar Practice Group

Richard Blake, Chair

Our government compliance, investigations and white-collar defense group understands government investigations and prosecutions firsthand. Our attorneys utilize decades of white-collar experience to counsel clients nationwide in all aspects of government compliance, investigations and litigation. Your needs will be met with customized compliance and risk management strategies, and support throughout all phases of inquiries, investigations and prosecutions.

Labor and Employment Practice Group

Jim Boutrous, Chair

Attorneys in our Labor and Employment practice have practical experience assisting clients with all aspects of employment and labor law matters – from providing advice and counsel regarding individual employee issues to assistance in significant business restructuring and practicing before state and federal agencies and courts. With multiple offices across several states, we have attorneys available to assist with day-to-day issues as they arise, as well as your most challenging labor and employment problems.

Data Privacy & Cybersecurity Practice Group

Dominic Paluzzi, Co-Chair and Jim Giszczak, Co-Chair

We believe in a comprehensive approach to data privacy and cybersecurity. Our robust team of attorneys, solely focused in data privacy and cybersecurity, have a wealth of knowledge and specializations. We are able to tackle whatever your business may need, from preventing and protecting your organization’s assets with our CyberSavvy pre-breach services, responding to an active privacy incident or cyber attack, providing regulatory defense, or leading your organization through privacy litigation.