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Samantha P McDonald.

Partner

Samantha P. McDonald

Partner

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Overview

Samantha McDonald is an experienced, client-focused real estate lawyer, concentrating on business and real estate property law. She represents a wide range of clients and matters, including buyers and sellers of commercial real estate, land use, zoning, and development matters, leasing, and surrounding property issues. Samantha represents a variety of clients, ranging from developers, nonprofits, manufacturers, retail, restaurants and educational institutions. 

Samantha appreciates what clients value most, understanding that “getting the deal done is most important to the client.” She enjoys working with clients to resolve matters that people typically don’t have to deal with and can’t always assess on their own. She helps her clients navigate various situations, evaluate the types of risks and potential effects involved, and works with clients to achieve exactly what they want while protecting them. 

Before Bowditch

Prior to joining the firm in 2018, Samantha focused her practice on business and real estate property law. She developed a specialty in evictions, but says she had her “foot in the door” with other practice areas as well. Prior to law school, Samantha worked as a paralegal for a solo practitioner doing real estate conveyancing. 

Besides work

Samantha enjoys crossword puzzles, but in the warmer months, she likes to spend time in her perennial flower garden. “I like to play in the dirt – I’m a dirt lawyer.” 

Affiliations
  • Co-Chair, Women’s Initiative, MSI Global Alliance
  • Board of Directors, Worcester Regional Research Bureau, Inc.
  • Elected to membership, American Antiquarian Society (2023)
  • Board of Trustees, New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill
  • Member Emerita, Leadership Council, Women’s Initiative of the United Way of Central Massachusetts
  • Corporator & Member of Audience Engagement Committee, Worcester Art Museum
  • Corporator & Member of Marketing Committee, Music Worcester
  • Corporator & Member of Tilton Scholarship Committee, Greater Worcester Community Foundation
  • Member, Wachusett Greenways Trust
  • Member, Real Estate Bar Association
  • Member, Worcester County Bar Association
  • Member, Women’s Bar Association

Previous

  • Board Chair Emerita/Development Committee Member, YOU Inc, Worcester
  • Board Member, The Commonwealth Department of Children and Families Worcester West
  • Chair, Financial Strategies Committee of the Women’s Initiative/Member, Steering Committee, Women’s Initiative of the United Way of Central Massachusetts
  • Member, American Bar Association – Environment, Energy & Resources and the Real Property, Trust & Estates Sections
  • Member, White Oak Land Trust
  • President, ArtsWorcester
  • Vice President of the Environmental Society, Suffolk University Law School

Honors
  • “Top Women of Law,” Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (2023)
  • Selected as a member of Leadership Worcester 2016, a joint program of the Greater Worcester Community Foundation and the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce
  • Super Lawyers  “Rising Star” (2015-2019)
  • Recipient of the Pro Bono Publico Award from Community Legal Aid (2014)

Articles + Talks

Articles

Talks

Bar Admissions
  • Massachusetts
  • District Court of Massachusetts

Education
  • J.D., Suffolk University Law School
  • B.A., cum laude, Environmental Studies, Clark University
Experience

Real Estate

  • Assisted client with partial ownership interest in 15 pieces of property in two states, working with multiple heirs (including several trusts and multiple estates) to sell or transfer the properties. This required significant interaction with trust and estate counsel for both pre- and post-MUPC guidance for both trust administration and intestacy procedures. 
  • Buyer in the purchase of a renewable fuel generation facility business and real property, including responding to significant undisclosed environmental issues 
  • Seller in sale of real property where buyer breached contract, including tendering title and negotiating settlement 
  • Buyer of real property from a municipality with a defective tax taking

Non-Profits

  • Identified potential zoning issue for a nonprofit that was under contract to sell a portion of its property that would have caused the remaining land to be unsalable and created a commercial condominium to enable the nonprofit to meet its contractual obligation while eliminating the zoning risk 
  • Creating and advising non-profit corporations and obtaining tax-exempt status for them 
  • Recipients of assets in cy pres cases, including required on-going reporting to the Attorney General 
  • Quasi-municipal entity regarding regulatory requirements for the sale of land acquired by eminent domain 
  • Non-profit in transferring all real property out of a trust owning its realty and dissolving the trust 
  • Presentations to Boards of Directors regarding their duties 
Insights + News

Events + Recordings

Publications

News

Blogs
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Commercial Real Estate Insight & News

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