The State Bar Association of North Dakota Summer 2014 Gavel Magazine | Page 6

NEW SBAND
PRESIDENT
JACK
MCDONALD

SEES BRIGHT
FUTURE FOR
NORTH DAKOTA’S
LEGAL PROFESSION
Jack McDonald likes to joke that it took
him eight years to finish his law degree.
He started in the fall of 1962 after earning
a journalism degree from the University of
North Dakota. But after a year and a half
at the UND School of Law, McDonald
left to enlist in the military.
“The Vietnam War was just starting to
heat up and I thought I’d enlist so I could
be a journalist in the military instead of
waiting to be drafted,” recalls McDonald.
He tried to join the Air Force, but a
heart murmur was detected, making him
ineligible for that and any other branch of
the military.
McDonald spent the next five years
working as journalist, covering the North
Dakota legislature for the United Press
International news service; teaching
journalism at Southern Illinois University;
getting a certificate in journalism from
the Washington Journalism Center, and
earning a master’s degree in journalism
from American University in Washington,
D.C.
He then took on communications
responsibilities at the national
headquarters of his college fraternity, Phi
Delta Theta, in Oxford, Ohio, for a few
years. “I thought about returning to law
school in Ohio, but getting credit for my
previous courses was difficult,” he recalls.
So he returned to Grand Forks in 1967 to
finish his degree at UND.
6 THE GAVEL

President Jack McDonald presenting Liberty Bell Award to 2014 recipient Bill Marcil at the
2014 Annual Meeting.

McDonald works fulltime as a lobbyist,
That plan was delayed by another year
something he has been doing since 1977.
when he was tapped to teach a year at the
“I really enjoy lobbying,” he says.
UND School of Journalism. He finally
received his law degree in 1970, and his
While he and his wife, Connie, who
first work as a lawyer was as an assistant
are celebrating their 50th wedding
city prosecutor in Grand Forks and at
anniversary this summer,
the North Dakota
I believe it’s important were busy raising their six
Legislative Council
children, McDonald felt he
in Bismarck. He
for lawyers and
wasn’t able to volunteer in
opened his own law
professional organizations
other professionals
practice in 1977 and
as much as he would have
joined the Wheeler
to give back to their
liked.
Wolf law firm in
communities...
Bismarck two years
“I believe it’s important for
later, where he has
lawyers and other professionals to give
practiced ever since.
back to their communities, and serving
on the boards of nonprofit organizations
“My goal was to practice communication
makes a big difference,” he says. “Even
and media law, but I realized if I wanted
though sitting through the meetings
to remain in North Dakota there was not
can sometimes be long and tedious, it’s
enough demand for that type of work to
important that organizations have good
be fulltime,” says the Bismarck native. His
people serving on their boards.”
clients today include several newspapers

“

”

and broadcasting companies, and he