Experience
Donald primarily focuses on matters related to business and construction law, green building and environmental policy. He has broad experience representing public and private clients on a multitude of contract, litigation, regulatory and general business issues. Donald co-founded the firm’s Green Business Practice Group and led the firm’s internal sustainability efforts, including becoming the first law firm to attain green business certification.
Donald is a national leader and speaker for the green economy and has devoted himself to creating the framework necessary for incenting business to become the engine of environmental sustainability and social responsibility. He co-chaired the effort to write and pass California's Benefit Corporation law (AB361), creating a new legal framework for businesses seeking to do well while doing good. He co-founded the two organizations that have made California the global green building leader, the U.S. Green Building Council’s Northern California Chapter and Build It Green. He is general counsel to both organizations, as well as the California Solar Energy Industry Association and Efficiency First. Donald hosted the West Coast Green, the leading conference and trade show for green innovation. On the international level, he teamed with the City of San Francisco in 2005 to organize and host the United Nations’ largest international conference of local government leaders to address urban environmental sustainability issues.
Active in environmental issues for many years, Donald previously worked for Environmental Defense Fund to develop the first international framework for cross-border air pollution offsets. He has also represented various organizations on issues related to old-growth forest protection and logging concerns, including Sierra Club, Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters, the California Heritage Tree Initiative and Buckeye Forest Council. In law school, he served as president of the Ohio State University Environmental Law Association.
Education
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Ohio State University; J.D. (1995)
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Ohio State University; B.A. (1992)
Benefit Corporation Legislation
Donald has taken an active leadership role in the passage of AB-361, California's Benefit Corporation legislation, which became effective January 2012. To learn more, please read the press release or watch the following videos showcasing some of the news coverage.
