
Michael C. O'Neill
Practices & Industries
Admissions
- New York
- U.S. District Courts for the Western and Eastern Districts of Wisconsin
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- U.S. District Courts for the Western and Southern Districts of New York
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Western New York
Education
University of Notre Dame, B.A.
Marquette University Law School, J.D.
Michael concentrates his practice in insurance defense, insurance coverage, and commercial litigation. He has had numerous jury verdicts in New York and Illinois, including in premises liability, motor vehicle liability, labor law, insurance coverage, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and defamation. Michael also has extensive experience in environmental long-tail insurance coverage defense and achieved a significant recovery for a client in a complex maritime arbitration proceeding. His bench trial experience includes trials involving the valuation of shares in a closely held corporation and successfully prosecuting a personal injury claim on behalf of a former prison inmate in the Court of Claims.
While he is prepared to take cases to trial when appropriate or necessary, Michael is a firm believer in alternative dispute resolution, whether court-sponsored or privately arranged. He has successfully resolved numerous matters on behalf of his clients through mediation and arbitration, thereby avoiding the higher costs of trial.
Over the years, Michael has learned that the person in the room who knows the most about both sides of a case usually controls the proceedings and directs the focus of the court/arbitrator/mediator to the issues most advantageous to the client's position. It is this realization, and his desire to be the most well-prepared and knowledgeable person in the room, that drives how he approaches each case.
Before joining Hodgson Russ, Michael worked as a trial and coverage attorney in Buffalo for seven years and practiced for nine years in Chicago.
Honors
- Listed, Best Lawyers in America (Insurance Law) 2016 - 2024
In the News
- Avoiding Slipups: Businesses Need to Prepare Strategies to Prevent Accidents and the Claims That May ResultBuffalo Business First, April 3, 2008
- Steering Clear of Slips-and-FallsBuffalo Law Journal, February 11, 2008
- October 22, 2007
Press Releases
- August 17, 2023
- Hodgson Russ Press Release, August 19, 2022
- Hodgson Russ Press Release, August 19, 2021
- Hodgson Russ Press Release, August 20, 2020
- Hodgson Russ Press Release, August 20, 2019
- Press Release, August 15, 2018
- Press Release, August 15, 2017
- Hodgson Russ Press Release, August 18, 2016
- Press Release, August 17, 2015
Publications
- Hodgson Russ Product Liability & Complex Tort Alert, May 10, 2022
- Hodgson Russ Product Liability Litigation & Legislation Quarterly Update, May 2022
- Hodgson Russ Product Liability Litigation & Legislation Quarterly Update, January/February 2022
- Hodgson Russ Torts, Insurance and Products Liability Alert, March 25, 2021
- Hodgson Russ Hemp & Medical Cannabis and Agriculture Alert, February 10, 2021
- Hodgson Russ Hemp & Medical Cannabis and Agriculture Alert, January 22, 2021
- Hodgson Russ Agriculture Alert, April 20, 2020
- Hodgson Russ Torts, Insurance & Products Liability Alert, April 17, 2020
- Hodgson Russ Corporate Alert, March 19, 2020
- Agriculture Alert, November 6, 2018
- Agriculture Alert, July 25, 2018
Community & Pro Bono
Michael coached basketball, softball, and volleyball at the grammar school level, but retired when his youngest reached high school. He previously served on the board of directors of the Buffalo Ski Club. He spends the bulk of his free time driving his children from event to event.