Leigh E. O’Neil, Associate

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Ms. O'Neil is an Associate at Block & Leviton LLP where she focuses her practice on investor, consumer protection and antitrust issues.  Ms. O'Neil is integrally involved in litigating numerous securities class action cases, including, but not limited to: In re Google Inc. Class C Shareholder Litigation, Case No. 7469CS; Rescue Mission of El Paso, Inc. v. K-Sea Transportation Partners, Case No. 12-509; and Hohenstein v. Behringer Harvard REIT I, Case No. 12-03772.

Prior to joining the firm, Ms. O'Neil was a Commercial Litigation Associate at Cooley Manion Jones, LLP in Boston, MA.  In that role, Ms. O'Neil conducted extensive research and analysis of complex contractual indemnification and environmental law issues.  Ms. O'Neil was also chosen as a member of the trial team in Invista B.V. et al, v. E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Co., Case No.  08-3063, where she assisted in litigating hundreds of millions of dollars in remediation costs in the Southern District of New York, ultimately resulting in a favorable settlement after three weeks of trial.  Prior to becoming an attorney, Ms. O'Neil was a law clerk at Cooley Manion where she worked on a variety of complex business disputes including: employment litigation, intellectual property challenges and the defense of corporations against government investigations and allegations of unfair and deceptive trade practices.

Ms. O'Neil received her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law in 2011 where she was a Dean's Scholar.  Ms. O'Neil was also one of three students selected as a research assistant to update the first year research and writing program curriculum.  She was then appointed as a teaching assistant and was personally responsible for mentoring four classes of first-year law students in the development of legal research and writing skills.  In addition, Ms. O'Neil represented Northeastern at the International Trademark Association's Saul Leftkowitz Moot Court Competition and served on the Northeastern University Law Journal.

During law school, Ms. O'Neil completed an internship with the Honorable Judith G. Dein of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.  She was also awarded an internship in the civil division of the United States Attorney's Office in Boston.  Her caseload at the U.S. Attorney's Office included both affirmative and defensive civil litigation with a focus on multi-district pharmaceutical litigation.

Ms. O'Neil received an Honors Bachelor of Arts degree from McGill University in 2006.  While at McGill, she authored an independent study, The Globalization Potential of the Baseball Industry, analyzing the international expansion strategies of Major League Baseball through the lens of economist George S. Yip's Total Global Strategy theory.  Ms. O'Neil also completed an interdisciplinary sports management certificate program at Wake Forest University.

Ms. O'Neil played varsity lacrosse for McGill University and enjoys competing in charity road races in her spare time.  She is also active in her local community:  organizing athletic programs at Montreal schools as the Community Outreach Chair of the McGill Varsity Athletics Intercollegiate Sports Council, working on student public health campaigns at Northeastern University School of Law and volunteering at Hill House to promote neighborhood activities for Boston families and seniors.

Ms. O'Neil is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the State of Rhode Island and the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.