Our Firm
A small firm, on purpose
No associate pyramid. No file handed down three levels. When you hire this office, Donald Schiffer reads your documents, negotiates your terms, and answers your phone calls himself.
Our Firm
Built for owners who want the senior lawyer, not the org chart
The Law Offices of Donald J. Schiffer is a boutique San Diego practice serving entrepreneurs, real estate developers, investors, and small to midsize businesses across San Diego County.
Large firms are structured around leverage. A senior lawyer wins the engagement and the work moves down to whoever has capacity. That model produces fine results on enormous transactions where the volume of documents demands a team. On a five hundred thousand dollar acquisition, a commercial lease, or a formation with three partners and an unusual split, it produces a bill you cannot justify and a lawyer who has never spoken to you.
This firm was built the other way. There is one attorney, and he has been practicing law since 1976. He reads your documents, he negotiates your terms, and he answers your questions himself. The tradeoff is that this office does not take on everything. It takes on transactional business and real estate work, where five decades of experience genuinely changes the outcome.
What Guides the Work
Four commitments that shape every engagement
These are not values statements. They are operating rules, and clients are welcome to hold the firm to them.
You get the attorney
No intake screener deciding whether your matter is worth a callback. No associate learning your business on your invoice. The lawyer you speak with in the free consultation is the lawyer who does the work and the lawyer who calls you back.
Prevention over reaction
The most valuable legal work happens before the dispute exists. Structuring the entity so a partner exit is orderly. Writing the indemnity so it cannot swallow the purchase price. Reading the title report before the deposit goes hard.
Plain language, always
If you cannot explain what a provision does to your business partner, the explanation failed. Every review comes with a clear account of what each term means for you in practice, ranked by what would actually hurt.
Honest scoping
Sometimes the right advice is that you do not need a lawyer for this, or that the matter belongs with a litigator or a tax specialist. Saying so has cost this office fees and earned it three decades of referrals.
Legal Services
What the firm handles
Five transactional areas, chosen because they are where a business owner's exposure concentrates and where experience compounds.
Business Formation
Choose the right entity the first time. LLC, S corporation, partnership, or nonprofit, structured to protect what you own and keep your tax bill sane.
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Business Transactions
Buying, selling, or merging a San Diego company. Diligence, deal structure, and closing documents handled by the attorney you actually hired.
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Contracts
Agreements drafted to be enforced, not just signed. Vendor, employment, licensing, and distribution contracts that hold up when money is on the line.
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Loan Purchase Transactions
Distressed debt and note acquisitions reviewed by a former bank counsel who worked the Resolution Trust era from the inside.
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Real Estate Transactions
Commercial purchases, sales, leases, and development deals across San Diego County, reviewed line by line before you are locked in.
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Who This Firm Serves
Clients who are building something with real money in it
- Founders forming a first entity and getting the ownership split right
- Established owners buying a competitor or preparing to sell
- Real estate investors acquiring commercial and multifamily property
- Developers structuring land acquisition and project entities
- Investors buying distressed notes, pools, and secured positions
- Companies that need agreements written to be enforced
- Partners restructuring ownership or negotiating a buyout
- Nonprofits and charitable organizations forming and governing properly
If your matter falls outside transactional business and real estate work, I will tell you so in the first conversation and point you toward someone appropriate. That is faster for you and better for everyone.
San Diego County
Local counsel, on the ground where you do business
My office sits at 2366 Front Street in downtown San Diego, minutes from the county recorder, the courts, and most of the lenders and title companies my clients use. That proximity is not a marketing line. It means documents get signed, recorded, and closed without a week of shipping delays.
Communities Served
Each community has its own page covering the local commercial corridors and the issues that come up there most often.
How large is the firm?
What areas of law does the firm not handle?
Do you work with startups and very small businesses?
Can you serve as outside general counsel?
How do I become a client?
Free Consultation
Find out whether this firm is the right fit
The first consultation exists to answer exactly that question. If the work belongs here, you will leave knowing the plan and the cost. If it belongs somewhere else, you will leave knowing where.
- Free consultation directly with the attorney
- Honest assessment, including when you do not need counsel
- Written engagement agreement with scope and fees defined
- Downtown San Diego office, countywide practice
2366 Front Street, San Diego, CA 92101-1414
Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Start with a conversation
No obligation, no sales script. Describe your situation and get a straight assessment from the attorney.
Your details go straight to Donald Schiffer. Most inquiries receive a reply the same business day. Prefer to talk now? Call (619) 699-4860.