James J. McDonald, Jr. advises and advocates for employers in labor and employment matters. He is a partner in the Irvine, California and Tampa, Florida offices of the international law firm Fisher & Phillips LLP. McDonald started with Fisher Phillips as a summer associate, and he practiced with the firm for six years in its Atlanta office. Then he went to California to build a practice for the firm, establishing an office in Irvine, California, which he managed for 24 years. That office grew to become the firm's largest, and it was the foundation for the firm's growth throughout California, and in Nevada and Arizona. Now McDonald splits his time between California and Florida, where he maintains busy counseling and litigation practices on both coasts.

McDonald is author of the ABA-published book, How to Be a Star Associate: A Guide to Excelling in Your Early Legal Career. He is also the author of California Employment Law: An Employer's Guide, published annually by the Society for Human Resource Management, and he was editor of two editions of the treatise, Mental and Emotional Injuries in Employment Litigation, published by BNA Books (now Bloomberg).

McDonald received his law degree cum laude from Georgetown University and his undergraduate degree from New College of Florida.