A founding member of Unruh Turner Burke & Frees, Don Turner has been practicing law in Chester County for decades. Don represents a variety of small to medium sized businesses, developers and individuals in an array of real estate transactions, zoning and commercial litigation matters. His advocacy experience includes the resolution of business, contractual, shareholder/partnership and real estate disputes, as well as corporate dissolutions, zoning appeals and eminent domain cases.
Don focuses on serving as an effective problem solver to clients and colleagues alike. Creative, smart and practical in both the law and business, Don is dedicated to realizing each client’s often distinct financial objectives and business imperatives. Don’s ability to listen to all sides of a negotiation or argument is a key component to devising win-win solutions for his clients and their constituents. Don’s judgement, businesses-mindedness and ability to remain calm and balanced under pressure have allowed him to negotiate and close transactions and resolve disputes ranging from millions to hundreds of millions of dollars in value.
Don is the founding President of Commercial Dispute Solutions, a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation formed with the encouragement of the Chester County Bench as a means to provide mediation and arbitration services for various types of commercial disputes. He has been named a “Top Lawyer” in Business Law, and Real Estate Law by Main Line Today magazine. He also received an “AV” rating from Martindale-Hubbell, recognizing superior legal ability as judged by his peers, and has been selected for inclusion in the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list over multiple years.
A selection of Don’s recent representative matters have included:
- Serving as the executor of a large, complex estate having ownership of various companies, real estate holdings and other significant assets
- The acquisition, leasing and sale of a very large Chester County shopping center
- Assisting developers in various zoning matters
- Representing businesses and developers in myriad acquisitions of real property of all kinds
- Assisting clients in the acquisition and sale of various businesses
- Representing builders and owners in construction defect litigation Serving as a mediator and arbitrator in various commercial disputes
- Resolving commercial contract disputes of all kinds, both in and out of court
Practice Areas
- Business Transactions
- Construction Litigation
- Litigation
- Mediators & Arbitrators
- Real Estate Development
- Real Estate Transactions
- Zoning and Land Use
Education
- Temple University School of Law, J.D. (1983)
- cum laude
- Recipient, American Jurisprudence Award
- Drexel University (1973)
Admissions
- Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (1983)
- United States District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Memberships
- Chester County Bar Association
- Pennsylvania Bar Association
- Chester County Airport Authority
- Former Board Member
- Devon Preparatory School
- Board of Trustees, Former Trustee
- Commercial Dispute Solutions
- Founding President
Martindale Hubbell Rating
- AV Rated*
*CV, BV and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the Judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell Ratings fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards. For more information, see http://www.martindale.com.
