O'Ryan, Bridget L.

Donna Ray Chmura practices in the areas of contract and commercial law, business formation, employment law, commercial real estate, merger and acquisition, licensing, trademark and copyright prosecution and other areas of corporate legal interest. She is a member of the Business, Finance & Real Estate practice group in the firm's North Carolina office.

The heart of Donna's practice involves counseling business leaders through transactions during the entire life of the company, including formation; growth; sale, merger, or winding-up; and business succession planning. Donna enjoys working with entrepreneurs to bring a business concept to the marketplace, as well as guiding established companies through critical negotiations. Her favorite work is drafting, reviewing and negotiating contracts. That is understandable, given her writing background.

Donna also has considerable expertise in negotiating, financing and closing complex real estate transactions, including representing buyers, sellers, lenders and developers of retail shopping centers and residential condominium properties. North Carolina is one of only a few attorney-closing states, and Donna's ability to steer buyers and sellers through the ebb and flow of these multi-faceted transactions is an invaluable asset to her clients.

Donna Chmura earned her B.S. Degree in Journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, after which she worked as a reporter in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Donna received her J.D. with honors from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where she was a member of The George Washington Law Review, the Giles S. Rich Inn of Court, and served as News Editor of the law school's award-winning student newspaper, The Advocate.

Donna's significant communications skills are applied to helping business owners and executives articulate goals and implement the legal infrastructure to support these goals. Her clients know her for being able to explain complex legal issues in a way that makes them clear and comprehensible. She empowers her clients to make better, more informed decisions, and to understand how their decisions affect their bottom lines today and in the months and years ahead.

Donna is a member of the North Carolina State Bar, North Carolina Bar Association, and Durham County Bar Association. She is a frequent speaker in the Triangle business community, including seminars on franchising, protecting small businesses, and business formation. She has been on the faculty for many continuing legal education classes in business and employment law, as well as the North Carolina Bar Association's "Practical Skills" course to teach new lawyers how to choose a business entity and open a legal practice. One of her favorite community activities is coordinating free legal clinics through the Durham County Bar Association for low-wealth entrepreneurs.

Donna is a native of Greensboro, North Carolina, and currently lives in Durham with her family and dogs. She has been active in many local arts organizations and serves on the board of the North Carolina Jewish Heritage Foundation, which just raised $1.25 million to chronicle and teach the history of Jewish settlement in North Carolina.