The State Bar Association of North Dakota Summer 2014 Gavel Magazine | Page 7

‘practicing law.’”

McDonald has also been a longtime member of the State Bar
Foundation Board, and he joined the SBAND Board or Governors
six years ago. “It’s been a chance to give back in a way I was not able
to as a younger attorney.”
As this year’s president of SBAND, McDonald would like to work
on strengthening the state’s local bar associations. “Some in the state
are strong, but others could be more active. I see local bar associations
as a good way for young lawyers to interact with the more seasoned
ones in their community.”
He also wants to encourage more middle-aged lawyers to be involved
in SBAND. “It’s important for the bar to have experienced lawyers in
their forties and fifties involved on the board and committees.“
In addition to his work with the state bar, McDonald is chairman
of Bismarck’s public access television station, Dakota Media Access,
and serves on the boards of Bridging the Dental Gap and Volunteer
Caregivers. He is also the immediate past president of the Board of
Trustees of the Bismarck YMCA. An avid runner since competing
in cross country and track in college, McDonald can be found during
most lunch hours running with other lawyer friends at the Y.
McDonald believes the legal profession in North Dakota is “alive and
doing very well. It’s much different from when I began in the 1970s.
I’m amazed at how many people are practicing law today, and how
many lawyers are working outside of the traditional career path of

He also is impressed with the number of women lawyers in the state
today. “In 1962 there was one woman in my class, and there were
three in 1970. Today, there are nearly equal numbers of women as
men, and they bring a lot to the profession.”
His oldest daughter, Courtney Koebele, is a lawyer, presently serving
as executive director of the North Dakota Medical Association. She
and his youngest child, Caitlin, who works for the North Dakota
Women’s Network, live in Bismarck.
His other children are John, who is with the Florida Department of
Law Enforcement in Tallahasee; Bridget Gallagher, who is a Hotel
Source Manager in Chanhassen, Minnesota; Grady, who is stationed
in Washington, D.C., with the U.S. Navy, and Molly, a physical
therapist in Seattle. The McDonalds also have eight grandchildren.
McDonald believes combining journalism with law has made for a
very rewarding law practice. “Lawyers are writing all the time and
knowing how to write well is very helpful.”
He also believes North Dakota’s strong economy has created a
demand for lawyers across the entire state. “I am very optimistic
about the future, especially when there are so many opportunities for
bright and talented young lawyers to practice law in
North Dakota.”

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SUMMER 2014 7