Donahue Fitzgerald Attorneys Recognized in the Best Lawyers in America® 2025 Edition
OAKLAND (August 15, 2024) – Donahue Fitzgerald LLP is pleased to announce that Dawn Newton, Kristin Pace, and Merrill Schwartz have been included in the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers in America®:
- Dawn Newton, Franchise Law
- Kristin A. Pace, Tax Law
- Merrill J. Schwartz, Real Estate
Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers recognitions are compiled based on a comprehensive peer-review survey. The 31ˢᵗ edition reached a historic milestone with over 250,000 voters having participated in the voting process. To create the awards over 23 million evaluations were analyzed including a record breaking 3 million responses from this year alone.
About Dawn Newton
Dawn is certified as a legal specialist in the area of Franchise and Distribution Law by the Board of Legal Specialization of the State Bar of California. She Co-Chairs the firm’s intellectual property practice. She has worked with franchise systems in the fields of seated and fast casual restaurants, real estate, retail, children’s programs, personal services, health care, construction, consulting and hospitality. She is a frequent speaker and author on the subject of franchise law and is currently a member of the Governing Committee for the American Bar Association’s Forum on Franchising.
About Kristin A. Pace
Kristin Chairs the Tax Practice Group and Co-Chairs the Trusts & Estates Practice Group. She advises clients in sophisticated estate planning matters on strategies for minimizing estate and gift tax liabilities. She represents business and individual clients before the Internal Revenue Service, Franchise Tax Board, State Board of Equalization and other taxing authorities. Kristin also handles a wide variety of probate and trust administration matters. Active in professional and community organizations, she serves on the executive board of the Children’s Health Council at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital and on the national board of directors for Girls, Inc.
About Merrill J. Schwartz
With a legal practice spanning almost five decades, Merrill’s business transactional experience includes formation of numerous corporations, limited liability companies and partnerships, and he has structured numerous business acquisitions and dispositions. He has represented numerous commercial lessors and lessees in lease transactions involving office space, industrial and warehouse properties, retail stores and shopping centers. In his spare time, he competes in Ironman triathlons and has qualified for and finished the Ironman World Championship triathlon in Kona, Hawaii.
About Donahue Fitzgerald LLP
Donahue Fitzgerald LLP is a full-service law firm with more than fifty attorneys with offices in the Bay Area and an office in Los Angeles. The firm provides legal advice and representation in all aspects of business and corporate law, employment, intellectual property, real estate and construction, immigration, nonprofit, franchise, music and entertainment, data privacy and security, and tax, as well as trusts and estates and litigation.