About James D. McDonald
James D. McDonald Jr. has practiced law for more than six decades after finishing his legal studies at Pennsylvania State University’s Dickinson School of Law in 1964. He earned his undergraduate degree from Penn State’s University Park campus in 1961. The timeline is simple and direct: a steady progression from college to law school and then into courtroom practice.
His career is rooted in litigation. He is admitted to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the Third Circuit, the U.S. Tax Court and the U.S. Supreme Court, and he holds admission in Pennsylvania. That range of admissions reflects a practice that has spanned trial courts, appellate courts and specialized forums. Over the years he has handled matters that required appearances in federal district courts and appellate panels, and his name is linked to organizations that emphasize trial work.
McDonald built his practice at MacDonald, Illig, Jones & Britton, where he serves as a partner. The firm has been the center of his professional life. He has been active in local and state bar activities and has taken on responsibilities that go beyond casework. He served on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s Disciplinary Board from 1983 to 1989 and later on the Civil Procedural Rules Committee from 1993 to 1999. Earlier, he was on the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association from 1980 to 1983.
His peers have recognized him through fellowship in professional bodies. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. He has held leadership roles in the Erie County Bar Association, serving as president in 1983 and as chancellor in 2008. He maintains membership in the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the American Health Lawyers Association and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.
Colleagues describe McDonald as a lawyer who has combined courtroom experience with service on rule-making and disciplinary panels. He has spent significant time shaping aspects of practice procedure at the state level. That work has run alongside a long career in private practice at a firm where he has been a partner for many years. He continues to practice, handling litigation that reflects his admissions and his years in the trial bar.
He currently practices at MacDonald, Illig, Jones & Britton and concentrates on litigation and appellate work across the courts to which he is admitted.
