Attorneys

Joseph F. McDonald, III

As of January 1, 2023, Joe has retired from the full time practice of law.  In 2023, he will remain with the firm on an of counsel basis, and attempt to finally get through all of the emails in his inbox.   

​Joe graduated from St. Anselm College in 1978 and earned his law degree from Suffolk University in 1983.  He holds a masters degree in taxation (L.L.M.) from the Boston  University School of Law.  Joe practiced for fourteen years at the Concord, New Hampshire law firm of Cleveland, Waters and Bass, P.A., where he was a Director and Shareholder and chaired the firm's Trusts and Estates Department.  He also made a mid-career foray into the banking world, working in 1992 and 1993 as a Vice President with New London Trust's Trust Division, where he managed two fully-staffed trust offices.

Joe has written and lectured extensively on the topics of asset protection, business succession and philanthropic planning for wealthy individuals and their families.  His comments and articles have appeared in The Journal of Taxation for Accountants, The Back Forty, ACTEC Notes, The Dow Jones Investment Advisor, Trust and Estates, The New Hampshire Bar Journal, New Hampshire Bar News, Journal of the American Society of CLU and ChFC, Private Asset Management and other publications. 

Joe has served as an adjunct professor at Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, where he taught a course on wills, trusts and estates.  He also frequently lectures to other professionals on all aspects of tax and estate planning.  He is often retained as an expert witness to provide opinions and testimony in trust and estate litigation. 

Joe is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, and is included among Woodward and White's listing of the Best Lawyers in America.  He holds the highest rating of A-V from Martindale Hubbell. 

In addition to his legal work, Joe has served on several charitable and civic boards, including the NH State Arts Council, Concord Hospital, the Concord Area Chapter of the American Red Cross (Chairman), the American Automobile Association of Northern New England (Director) and the New Hampshire Trust Advisory Committee for the State Street Bank and Trust Company. 

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