Practice Areas
Education
- J.D., cum laude, 1978, University of Miami School of Law
- A.B., 1975, Bucknell University
Admissions to Practice
- Delaware, 1978
Don is a member of the Commercial Law Counseling group and heads up the firm’s commercial real estate law practice.
Over the past 30 years he has gained a national reputation representing prominent corporations, institutions, governments and individuals in every facet of their transactional real estate law and land use regulation needs. Many of his clients are among the most well-known real estate developers and institutional lenders locally and in the US and include Toll Brothers, Ryan Homes, Trammel Crow, G.E. Capital, JPMorgan Chase (as well as its predecessor banks, such as First USA and Bank One), Prudential Insurance, Wilmington Trust, Citizens Bank, Greggo & Ferrara, Inc., McConnell Development, Inc., The Delaware River and Bay Authority, The Port of Wilmington, and The State of Delaware.
Don is regularly engaged in site selection and land acquisition, obtaining land use and project approvals and permits, securing grants and loan financing, development of transportation and utility infrastructures, hiring of project construction managers and architects, and oversight in project sales and leasing. He was part of the team that assisted The State of Delaware with its development of the Wilmington Riverfront district, now one of America’s premiere examples of successful urban renaissance through a public-private partnership in what was once an ignored and dilapidated area of the city.
In 1990, Don became one of the youngest real estate attorneys ever to be invited for membership into the prestigious American College of Real Estate Lawyers. He is one of only two real estate lawyers in Delaware to be top-ranked by Chambers USA: Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. Best Lawyers in America has ranked him as the “Best” in Delaware in his practice area for over 10 years. Major media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and USA TODAY solicit and report Don’s opinions about current perspectives on issues such as the US subprime and mortgage foreclosure crisis.
Professional and Community Activities
- American College of Real Estate Lawyers
- Delaware State Bar Association, Real Property Committee, past co-chairman of sub-committee to Revisions to the Delaware Unit Property Act
- Board Member, Association of Retarded Citizens ("ARC") of Delaware
- Board Member, Wilmington Renaissance Corporation
Noteworthy
- Best Lawyers in America
Representative Matters
- Represented purchaser of the Delaware City Oil Refinery in a $1 billion transaction
- Represented buyer in connection with its $100 million purchase and refinance of a 440,000 sq. ft. high rise office building in downtown Wilmington, Delaware
- Represented JPMorgan Chase Bank in its development of two $500 million state-of-the-art international data centers
- Represented an investor in the purchase and subsequent lease of a multi-state, egg production company to a Japanese-based agricultural group
- Represented The State of Delaware involving various projects in connection with the development of the Wilmington Riverfront
- Engaged by a consortium of 42 physicians in connection with the development of a major neurosciences health care facility
- Represented Condé Nast Publishing in connection with administrative office relocation from New York City to Wilmington, Delaware
News
- 25 Morris Nichols Attorneys Named to The Best Lawyers in America 2012
25 Morris Nichols attorneys have been named to The Best Lawyers in America 2012 in twenty practice areas. - Chambers USA 2011 Names Twenty Morris Nichols Attorneys and Four Practice Groups as Best In Delaware
The 2011 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business today ranked twenty Morris Nichols’ attorneys and four practice groups as best in Delaware. - 19 Morris Nichols Attorneys Selected for Inclusion in Super Lawyers – Delaware Edition 2011
Super Lawyers® magazine has named 19 Morris Nichols attorneys as top legal counsel in Delaware for 2011. - 26 Morris Nichols Attorneys Named to The Best Lawyers in America 2011; Firm is Top-Listed in Eight Categories in Delaware
26 Morris Nichols attorneys have been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America 2011. The firm was also “Top-Listed in Delaware” in eight practice areas. - Chambers USA 2010 Names Twenty Morris Nichols Attorneys as Leading Lawyers
The 2010 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business today ranked twenty Morris Nichols attorneys and four practice groups as among the best in Delaware. - 18 Morris Nichols Attorneys Selected for Inclusion in Super Lawyers – Delaware Edition 2010
Super Lawyers® magazine has named 18 Morris Nichols attorneys as top legal counsel in Delaware for 2010.