Michael F. O'Neill earned an Accounting degree from St. Francis College (PA) in 1975 and his J.D. degree, cum laude, from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1980. He served as Editor-in-Chief of the Seton Hall Law Review, 1979-1980. Upon graduation from law school, Mr. O'Neill served as Law Secretary to the Honorable Mark A. Sullivan, Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. He joined Purcell, Mulcahy, O'Neill & Hawkins as an associate in 1983 and became a named partner in 1988.
Mr. O'Neill began specializing in complex insurance matters in the mid-1980s and has co-chaired the firm's Insurance Practice Group since 1988. In addition to his expertise in the insurance field, he has experience in the following areas: products liability, professional liability, corporate/commercial disputes, construction litigation, employment contracts and disputes, land use/zoning, intellectual property disputes, environmental cleanup, mass toxic torts, personal injury and property damage litigation.
Mr. O'Neill is certified as a Civil Trial Attorney by the New Jersey Supreme Court Board on Attorney Certification. He is also an experienced appellate advocate, having successfully argued appeals to the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division and the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
In 2005, Mr. O'Neill joined the firm's Alternative Dispute Resolution ("ADR") practice group. He is on the roster of approved mediators for New Jersey's Statewide Civil Mediation Program. Mr. O'Neill has been recognized as one of the "Best Lawyers in America" and one of New Jersey's top attorneys by New Jersey Super Lawyers Magazine for 2005-2010.