Michael Donner is a commercial litigator, specializing in business, real estate, employment, trade secret, and fiduciary matters. For nearly 17 years, Mr. Donner has advised businesses and individuals on how to avoid commercial disputes, and has represented them in all phases of those disputes as they arise. He represents a diverse array of clients, including financial institutions, real estate developers, brokers, landlords and tenants, advertising agencies, technology companies and senior executives. Mr. Donner has significant arbitration and mediation experience and regularly appears before the federal and state courts in California.

Mr. Donner was the Chairman of the American Bar Association's Real Property Litigation Committee from 2000-2005 and a member of the Judicial Appointments Committee of the San Francisco County Bar Association from 2000-2004. He is the author of several articles, including "Alternative Dispute Resolution For Real Estate Disputes: Is ADR Really Faster, Better And Cheaper?," ABA Real Property & Probate Journal, Vol. 20, No. 3 May/June 2006, and "Litigation Avoidance 101: Thinking Through the Use of Boilerplate Provisions for Arbitration, Mediation and Attorneys' Fees in Contracts," ABA Real Property & Probate Journal, Vol. 17, No. 3 May/June 2003.

Mr. Donner is also a frequent speaker on topics of interest in his field. His engagements have included "Common Litigation ‘Tripwires': How Landlords and Tenants Can Improve Their Leases and Avoid Disputes," 2006 ABA Real Property Section Spring Meeting; "Drafting Better ADR Clauses in Real Estate Contracts," 2005 ABA Real Property Section Spring Meeting; "I Can't Give It Away on Seventh Avenue: What Every Landlord and Tenant Should Know In Today's Retail Real Estate Market," 2003 ABA Real Property Section Spring Meeting; "Real Estate In The Wake Of Dot.Coms, Recession And Terrorism," 2002 ABA Real Property Section Spring Meeting; "Litigation Avoidance 101: What Every Transactional Lawyer Should Know," 2001 ABA Real Property Section Spring Meeting; "Shifting Sands: Recent Developments in the Interpretation and Enforcement of California's Unfair Competition Law," 2001 CCE Spring Program; and "Advising Start-Ups About Unfair Business Practices," 2000 CCE Spring Program.

Mr. Donner earned an A.B. from Columbia University in 1987, an M.S. in Real Estate Development from the Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Planning in 1988 and a J.D. from University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1991. He served as an extern for Hon. Eugene F. Lynch of the United States District Court, Northern District of California, and Hon. Stuart R. Pollak of the Superior Court of the City and County of San Francisco.