To a solution of 3,5-dimethoxybenzoic acid (101 g, 0.554 mol) in MeOH (1290 mL) was added conc. H2SO4 (4.0 mL, 75 mmol) at 0 oC, and the mixture was heated under reflux for 20 h. After cooling, the reaction was quenched by the addition of saturated NaHCO3 solution to pH 7–8, and the mixture was concentrated under reduced pressure. The resulting residue was extracted with EtOAc (x4), and the combined organic extracts were washed with brine (x1), dried over Na2SO4, and concentrated under reduced pressure to give methyl ester 1 (107 g, 98%) as a white solid, which was used for the subsequent reaction without purification.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.201006528/abstract