Megan O'Neill

Recognized by the Daily Journal in both 2021 and 2023 as one of the 60 “Top Women Lawyers” in California, Megan O’Neill co-founded DTO and leads the firm’s Litigation practice. Megan is a fierce litigator and master strategist. Despite her love of winning, Megan never loses sight of the practical reality a company faces in litigation: what is best for our business? She pairs her decades of experience litigating high-stakes cases with her ability to “cut to the chase,” gaining clients’ trust by speaking candidly about what they are facing and how to accomplish their goals. Megan’s generalist background enables her to tackle everything from thorny breach of contract and fraud claims to trademark infringement cases, she is most recognized for her work in the class action space. In the past few years, she has litigated class actions as lead counsel on behalf of clients such as HP, Unilever, Honda, Target, and Walgreens and is often invited to speak and chair conferences focused on the defense of class actions. Megan is equally comfortable at an appellate podium and in a trial court, having handled appeals to the Second, Third, and Ninth Circuits and tried several cases to verdict. Megan's teams often secure victories at the very outset of the case on a motion to dismiss, either ending the case altogether or greatly reducing the potential liability (and cost of defense) for her clients. By way of example, Megan led the team that defended a major retailer in a class action alleging that consumers had paid a “pink tax” on a women’s hair-loss treatment priced higher than the similar men’s treatment. The court adopted DTO’s arguments that some claims were preempted, while others failed as a matter of law based on the statutory language, an argument Megan’s team buttressed with legislative history. In another class action in which she represented several defendants, Megan obtained key admissions in the plaintiff’s deposition and leveraged those in opposing class certification. The plaintiff capitulated and dismissed the entire case. Megan’s time outside of work is usually focused on one of three things: her two boys, her hometown sports teams (Go Birds!), and her side hustle as a hip-hop dance teacher and choreographer.