About Craig
Craig Donais combines years of courtroom experience with a steady record of public service. He studied political science and economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, then earned his J.D. from Suffolk University Law School in 1993. Those formative years shaped a lawyer comfortable with both policy questions and technical legal work.
Early in his career he spent a year clerking at the New Hampshire Supreme Court in 1997. The clerkship exposed him to appellate procedure and opinion drafting. Two years later he joined the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office as an Assistant Lawyer General. That role placed him on the front lines of state litigation and gave him experience managing high-stakes matters for the government.
Donais is admitted in several jurisdictions, including Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and the U.S. Supreme Court. He has maintained a practice that moves between trial and appellate work. He has also taken on alternative dispute resolution roles. The New Hampshire Judicial Branch has certified him as both a Rule 170 mediator and a Rule 170-A arbitrator, credentials he uses when clients prefer negotiated solutions over contested hearings.
Colleagues describe him as methodical. He breaks complex problems into discrete legal questions. That approach serves both courtroom strategy and settlement talks. His background in political science and economics informs how he frames damages and statutory issues. The combination of public-sector litigation and judicial clerkship gives him perspective on how judges read briefs and shape opinions.
Later in his career Donais moved to private practice and joined Wadleigh, Starr & Peters, PLLC. At that firm he continued to represent clients in civil litigation and to accept appointments in mediation and arbitration. He has handled matters that require briefing at the appellate level as well as trial preparation. He also appears before administrative bodies when cases overlap with regulatory or licensing issues.
He keeps a practical approach to client counseling. He explains options plainly and presents likely outcomes rather than promises. His practice balances courtroom advocacy, appellate work and alternative dispute resolution. He remains active in the regional courts where he is admitted and takes selected mediation and arbitration assignments as part of his case work.
Donais currently practices at Wadleigh, Starr & Peters, PLLC, handling civil litigation, appellate matters and court-ordered alternative dispute resolution.
