Ward F. McDonald

Ward F. McDonald

  • Estate Planning, Real Estate Law
  • Illinois
Badges
Claimed Lawyer Profile
Biography

Ward F. McDonald brings a wealth of experience in real estate, banking and commercial law to the clients of Meyer Capel. His background includes 13 years as CEO of Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund, Inc., a title insurer with multi-state operations, and 25 years as an attorney in private practice. Over the course of his career, Ward has handled numerous transactions in the $1-100 million range for commercial and residential real estate developments, including sales, acquisitions, refinancing and consolidations.

Ward holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Urban Land Economics from the University of Illinois as well as his Juris Doctorate. He went on to take graduate courses at the University of Southern California. Ward is an Adjunct Professor of Finance and Law at the University of Illinois where he has taught upper level courses in real estate for 20 years.

Ward has played an active role in numerous professional, civic and charitable organizations.

He is a member of the American Bar Foundation and a charter member of both the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and the Illinois Bar Foundation. In addition, he has served as Chairman of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Real Estate Law Section Council and as a member of the Board of Directors of Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund, Inc. He is a past President of Arrowhead Council, Boy Scouts of America. Ward also served for 7 years as a member of the Mahomet-Seymour (CUSD #3) School Board. He is co-founder of the Land Conservation Foundation and served on the Board of Directors for Prairie Rivers Network.

Away from the practice of law, Ward enjoys hiking, biking and tennis. An avid outdoors man, he and his wife, Diana, are especially fond of tending to the trees on their 160 acres of reforested land near Mahomet and have planted 50,000 trees as part of their reforestation efforts.

He and Diana, a retired English instructor at Parkland College for 35 years, are members of St. John the Divine Episcopal Church.

Practice Areas
Estate Planning
Guardianship & Conservatorship Estate Administration, Health Care Directives, Trusts, Wills
Real Estate Law
Commercial Real Estate, Condominiums, Easements, Eminent Domain, Homeowners Association, Land Use & Zoning, Mortgages, Neighbor Disputes, Residential Real Estate, Water Law
Additional Practice Areas
  • Banking
  • Corporate Law
Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice
Illinois
Placeholder image for jurisdictions.
Education
University of Illinois College of Law
J.D.
University of Illinois College of Law Logo
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
B.S.
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign Logo
Websites & Blogs
Website
Website
Contact & Map
306 W. Church St.
Champaign, IL 61820
Telephone: (217) 352-1800