Resume'
EXPERIENCE- Attorney at Law - 1973 to Present
- Certified Public Accountant - 1972 to Present
- Real Estate Broker - 1979 to Present
- Real Estate Developer - 1985 to Present
- Real Estate Appraiser - 1979 to Present
- Power Plant Developer-1998 to Present
EDUCATION
- Villanova University - 1969 BS, Accounting, Magna Cum Laude
- Temple University Law School - 1973 Juris Doctor, top quintile
- New York University Law School - 1977, LLM Taxation, top quintile
- Lincoln Graduate Studies - 1991, Real Estate Appraisal Courses
- National Institute of Trial Advocacy - 1993 Trial School
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
LAW
- Delaware County Bar Association (President 1990), (Board Member 1976 to 1992). Committee Chairmanship: Budget & Finance Committee 1980-present; Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee, Executive Committee-1990, Personnel Committee-1988, District Justice Committee-1994/95, Bench Bar Committee-1990, Law Day Committee, Personnel Committee, Insurance & Benefits Committee, Memorial Committee, Past Presidents Committee, Real Estate Practices Committee, Nominating Committee.
- Committee Membership: Membership Directory Committee, Membership Committee, Bench Bar Relations Committee, E. Wallace Chadwick Memorial Fund Committee, Economics of Law Practice Committee, Judicial Selection Committee, Legal Journal Committee, Legal Services Committee, Orientation Committee, Service & Welfare Committee, Trial Practice Committee, Computerization & Technology Committee, Arbitration Committee, Civil Rules Committee, Solo Practitioner Committee, Technology Committee, Long Range Planning Committee, Building Committee, Fee Dispute Resolution Committee, Continuing Legal Education Committee.
- Delaware County Bar Foundation-Founder – (President 1980, 85, 91) Member, Board of Directors 1979 to 1992
- Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association,
- Pennsylvania Bar Association,
- American Trial Lawyers Association,
- American Association of Attorney-CPA’s
- Delaware County Legal Assistance-Board Member 1992-Present; Treasurer 1997-98
CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT
- PA Institute of CPA's,
- American Association of Attorney-CPA's.
- Delaware County Attorney CPA Forum - (President 1992-1994) Membership Committee Chairman-1992; Seminar Lecturer Committee Chairman-1992
REAL ESTATE
- Delaware Valley Association of Realtors, Committee Memberships: Budget Committee, Grievance Committee
- National Association of Realtors
- PA Association or Realtors
- National Association of Master Appraisers - (Master Residential Appraiser, Master Farm and Land Appraiser),
- Pennsylvania Appraisal Council
- Council of PA Real Estate Appraisers - Member
OTHER
- Community Association Institute, Board Member, Mid-Atlantic Region, Past Treasurer
- Who's Who in Practicing Attorneys
- Who's Who in Outstanding Americans
- Who’s Who in Executives and Professionals
- Penn State University - Lecturer
- Neumann College - Lecturer
- PA Bar Institute Continuing Legal Education - Lecturer
- Immaculata College - Lecturer
- Delaware County Bar Association/Delaware Valley Association of Realtors and Real Estate Practices Committee - Continuing Education – Lecturer
- Polley Associates Real Estate Institute – Guest Lecturer
ENTREPRENEURIAL AFFILIATIONS
PRINCIPAL OPERATOR OF:
- Real Estate Tax Savers - Tax Assessment Appeals - President
- PA Realty Abstract - Agent for T.A. Title and Fidelity National Title - President
- Condominium/Townhouse Realty, Ltd. - On Site Sales Office at Painters Crossing Condominiums & General Real Estate Sales and Leasing - President
- Main Line Investors - Real Estate Developers in Chester and Delaware Counties
- Donald J. Weiss, Esquire, PC - President
- Cogen Enterprises, Inc. - 1998-Present-Power Plant Development & Consulting - Treasurer
- MidAtlantic Energy LLC - 1999-Present-Power Plant Development & Consulting-Treasurer
- Senergy LLC- Treasurer 2008 to present- Bio Fuels processing
- Cleaner Power Research Institute-President 2000 to present- Bio Fuel Research 501 c 3
PRO BONO ACTIVITIES
- Delaware County Legal Assistance Association - Member Board of Directors - 1991-Present Treasurer/Chairman of Budget and Finance Committee & Co-chair Union Negotiating Committee, Building Acquisition Committee Chairman, Member of Executive Committee
- Legal Aid of Southeastern PA - Board Member-2000 to Present
- Community Impact Legal Services - Board Member-2000 to Present
- Boy Scouts of America - Troop 31, Chadds Ford-Treasurer and Board member - 1995-Present
- Painters Crossing Condominium Association - Council Member 1974-Present -Past President
- Creative Educational Concepts Charter School - Advisory Board and Board Member-1998,99
- Rose Tree Media Optimist Club - Past President, Director 1984-1990
- Advisory Council on Continuing Education Programs for Accountants and Lawyers - Neumann College
- Delta Community Support (organization for the benefit of the mentally and physically challenged) - Board of Directors
- CIBC Housing (organization for providing housing for mentally & physically challenged) - Board member
- CIBC Residences (organization for providing community living arrangement facilities for mentally and physically challenged) - Board Member
- Delaware County Ballet, Media, PA - Board Member
- Time N Tide Condo Association, Ocean City, MD - Treasurer
- American Indian Education Foundation Scholarship Committee
- Chadds Ford Professional Center Chadds Ford, Pa President Council 2005 - present
AWARDS
- E. Wallace Chadwick Award presented by Delaware County Bar Association
- President’s Special Recognition Award presented by Delaware County Bar Association President- 1987
- President’s Special Recognition Award presented by Delaware County Bar Association President-1988
- President’s Special Recognition Award presented by Delaware County Bar Association President-1999
- President’s Special Recognition Award presented by Delaware County Bar Association President-2000
- Optimist of the Year Award presented by Rose Tree Media Optimist Club
- President’s Appreciation Award presented by Delaware County Attorney/CPA Forum
- Enterpreneur of the Year Award presented by Ink Maganize
- Who’s Who in American Lawyers
- Who’s Who in Outstanding Americans
- Who’s Who in Executives and Professionals
- Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year 2008 presented by the PA Bar Association
- Businessmsn of the Year presented by the National Republican Business Advisory Council
- Life Member Eisenhower Commission
- Organizational Support Award presented by Delta Community Supports
LECTURES/COURSES PLANNED/PRESENTED
- Family Limited Partnerships
- Tax Aspects of Real Estate
- Collecting Accounts Receivable
- Delaware County Tax Assessments
- Residential Leasing Issues
- District Justice Practice in Delaware County
- Protecting Your Assets
- Tax Assessment Appeals
- Counseling and Accounting for Starting up a New Business
- What Every Auditor Should Know About Fiduciaries & Fiduciary Responsibility
- Tax Reassessments
- Fiduciaries and Their Responsibilities
- Real Estate Topics for Accountants and Tax Preparers
- Selecting the form of Entity-Protecting Your Assets-Estate Planning Techniques
ARTICLES PUBLISHED
- Better Than a Handshake, Delaware Co. Board of Realtors Magazine
- A Funny Thing Happened to Me on the Way to Settlement, Delaware Co. Board of Realtors Magazine
- What Every Lawyer Should Know About Sales Tax Delaware Co. Legal Journal
POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS/AFFILIATIONS
- Birmingham Township Republican Advisory Committee
- National Republican Committee Member
- PA National Republican Convention Committee Member
- PA Republican State Committee
- Eisenhower Commission of the Republican National Committee
PROFILE
Upon graduation from Villanova University, Don began working as a Certified Public Accountant while attending Temple University Law School. After graduating and passing the Bar Exam, he became the youngest person in Pennsylvania to be both a CPA and a Lawyer. He then attended New York University Law School and was awarded his LL.M in Taxation. He formed his own firm in 1985, concentrating in foreclosure and tax sale purchases for his own account, as well as real estate development, while expanding his growing real estate and tax law practice. He is the only practicing lawyer in Pennsylvania who is also a Certified Public Accountant and a Real Estate Broker and Appraiser.
Don started his own Real Estate Brokerage firm and Real Estate Title Agency. In this way, he is able to offer a full service program for real estate investors and homeowners, unparalleled in Pennsylvania.
Don has handled more than 18,000 tax assessment appeals for individual properties in the Delaware Valley, likely more than any other attorney in the area. He has handled properties as unique as parking spaces, golf courses, bowling alleys,. car dealerships, office buildings, contaminated office buildings, vacant lots, farms, houses, duplexes, condominiums and townhouses. The largest was a 950 unit $180 million townhouse community, and the smallest was a vacant lot designated as open space in a homeowner's community.
His educational background and experience afford him a most advantageous outlook on these cases. He has been a Certified Public Accountant for more than 35 years as well as a practicing attorney. He has been a Realtor and Appraiser for more than 20 years. He has developed and owned real estate for more than 25 years and has owned, purchased and sold over 400 parcels for his own.
In 1998, Don became a partner in an organization that planned and developed the construction and operation of a $350 million, 557 Megawatt Cogenerating Gas Turbine Electric Power Plant in Berks County, Pennsylvania, known as the Ontelaunee Plant. He is Secretary/Treasurer and CFO of Senergy LLC, an organization created for the purpose of developing and consulting in the BIO FUELS development industry. SENERGY LLC is currently in planning stages of participating in the development of several BIO Fuels plants nationally.