MARK RAYMOND McDONALD is a law practitioner in San Bernardino, California serving the communities of San Bernardino and Riverside counties. A 1990 graduate of Duke University and the McGeorge School of Law, he began working for the Riverside County District Attorney's office. In October, 1993, having completed all of the criminal trial assignments within the office, he joined the "Special Prosecutions" unit in downtown Riverside. The Special Prosecutions unit is charged with the responsibility of prosecuting all white collar offenses, both at the State and Federal level.

Mr. McDonald's assignments within the unit were to investigate and, if warranted, prosecute crimes involving large scale fraud, political corruption, and organized crime. On a specialized basis, he also handled cases involving environmental offenses, insurance and consumer fraud, securities fraud, corporate criminal liability offenses (workplace deaths), counterfeiting, and so on. All cases within Special Prosecutions are handled by an individual attorney from their initial investigation through trial and sentencing.

In January of 1997, after three years in Special Prosecutions, he opened his private practice on Hospitality Lane in San Bernardino. Mr. McDonald's practice is an Exclusive Criminal Defense Practice   Mr. McDonald has assembles an impressive record of trial victories on cases ranging from homicides to assault charges. 

Education:
Duke University, BA 1985 (Political Science, English, Psychology)
Duke University & McGeorge School of Law, JD, 1990 (with Great Distinction)
Law Review: Pacific Law Journal, Board of Editors 1988-89

Awards:
"Prosecutor of the Year" 1993, 1994
State lecturer in White Collar Crimes, 1995
Traynor Academic Society, Stauffer Research Fellowship

Publications:
"Prejudicial Joinder Under California Penal Code Section 954: Judicial Economy at a Premium, 20 Pac"L.J. 1285 (1989). (Article cited by West Publishing Company as authority interpreting California Penal Code Section 954)

"Literary Rights Fee Agreements: Letting the Rabbit Guard the Carrot Patch of Sixth Amendment Rights and Attorney Ethics"24 Loyola Law Review 365 (1991) (Article cited as authority by the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Texas in 1994)

Employment:
Law Offices of Mark Raymond McDonald, Attorney at Law
An Exclusive Criminal Defense Practice, November 1996 - Present
A private practice specializing in Criminal Defense. His current clientele include public officials, homicide defendants on private retainer, juveniles facing life terms, general felony and misdemeanor cases, insider trading and securities fraud defendants, to name a few.

Riverside County District Attorney, Deputy District Attorney
Trial and Appellate Attorney, 1990 - 1996
During eight years as a prosecutor, Mr. McDonald worked as a trial attorney in all types of cases: Sex Crimes, Homicide, Gangs, Career Criminal, Juvenile, Domestic Violence and White Collar. He wrote and argued his own appeals before the Court of Appeal out of choice. While a DA, he conducted over 60 jury trials, involving complex mental defenses, DNA, infant deaths," "Battered Wife Syndrome," Racketeering, Bribery, and Securities and Real Estate Fraud. As a result of being a prosecutor for a number of years, he is familiar with the prosecutors throughout Southern California and the state's forensic experts and judges.

Denise Anne McDonald, Director of Operations

Denise is in charge of overseeing the daily operations of the firm, immediate problem solving and any emergency's that may occur within the jail system or with clients and their family  She has over 20 years experience in the legal field, coupled with her educational experience has made her an extraordinary valuable member of the office.  Denise is a Member of the National Federation of Paralegal Associations, Inc  and The National Notary Association.

Valentine Lozano, Legal Assistant

Val's energy can be felt through the phone when he answer's it.  He is currently in school working on his degree and has worked for the firm since 1998.  He is experienced with all aspects of the legal process.   Val is bi-lingual (Spanish), and is always happy to do a jail visit when necessary.  

Keith E. Gooselaw - Private Investigator

Mark McDonald’s office is proud to have Mr. Gooselaw as a member of our firm. Mr. Gooselaw was a member of the law enforcement community from 1982 to 1997. During his fifteen years of service at the Riverside Sheriff’s Department and the Perris Police Department, Mr. Gooselaw rose to be one of the top among his fellow officers. Mr. Gooselaw’s diligence as an officer benefits our firm as he has proven himself to be 100 percent effective in locating witnesses and writing valuable reports which ultimately leads to victory.

Mr. Gooselaw has received many letters of commendation from his supervisors, district attorney’s and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He single handedly apprehended four dangerous suspects and recovered $9,736 dollars of the bank’s money along with all of the weapons used during the robbery. This arrest is just one example wherein Mr. Gooselaw has gone above and beyond the call of duty risking his own life in order to perform his job duties at the highest possible level.

How does a great investigator help you? The answer is easy. We have hundreds of success stories where investigations proved to be the key to freedom for our clients. There are too many to mention here, although we believe that it is important for the client to be given examples of Mr. Gooselaw’s many victories, as such, please review the following cases:

• In the matter of the People vs. T.G. two other investigators failed in locating witnesses. Once we assigned this case to Mr. Gooselaw, in less than one week, he successfully located approximately fifteen witnesses, ultimately breaking the district attorney’s case wide open, and proving the defendant’s innocence on a life case of kidnapping and rape.
• In the matter of People of E.M., the defendant was charged with felony charges of grand theft. The defendant was facing three years in State prison. After Mr. Gooselaw’s extraordinary investigative work, Mr. M case was completely dismissed.
• In the matter of People vs. D.S., this defendant was charged with attempted murder with special allegations of great bodily injury. Mr. Gooselaw’s investigation proved that Mr. S was defending himself, and that he was not the perpetrator in this case. Once again this client’s case reached a positive conclusion.
• In the matter of People vs. P.S., our client was facing life in prison on charges of eight counts of child molestation. Through effective interviewing and report writing our office was able to show the district attorney that the wife of our client had ill motives for making these false accusations. Once this information was given to the district attorney, this client’s case went from a life without the possibility of parole, to three years in State Prison.