Dennis S. O'Neill

Mr. O’Neill is an experienced litigator and businessman.  He graduated from San Diego State University in 1975, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with distinction.  Mr. O’Neill received his Juris Doctor degree from California Western School of Law in 1979.   Mr. O’Neill was admitted to the State bar of California in 1979.

Specialty Areas of Practice

Professional Experience
Farmer Case Hack & Fedor San Diego, CA 2000-Present
Law Offices of Joseph J. Barr, Jr. & Associates San Diego, CA 1993-2000
Law Offices of Shawn F. Kelly San Diego, CA 1992-1993
First Community Bank of the Desert Cathedral City, CA 1989-1991
All Coast Financial San Diego, CA 1988-1989
Landmark Thrift and Loan San Diego, CA 1986-1988
Norwest Mortgage, Inc. San Diego, CA 1983-1986
Law Offices of Steven M. Angus Cardiff, CA 1979-1983

Professional Associations/Memberships
San Diego County Bar Association
California State Bar Association
San Diego Defense Lawyers

Bar Admissions
State of California (1979)
U.S. District Court, Southern District of California (1979)
U.S. District Court, Central District of California (1989)

Educational Background
B.A. San Diego State University 1975
Juris Doctor California Western School of Law 1979

Upon admission to the Bar, Mr. O’Neill worked for the Law Offices of Steven M. Angus in Cardiff, California.  This was a law firm that specialized in transactional work and civil litigation.  In 1983, Mr. O’Neill entered the mortgage banking industry, where he worked in executive positions for three residential mortgage lenders, including Norwest Mortgage.  While in the mortgage banking industry, he obtained a California Real Estate Broker’s License.  In 1989, he went to work for First Community Bank of the Desert, a commercial bank in the Palm Springs area, and its real estate development subsidiary, Desert Community Properties, as in-house legal counsel.  Mr. O’Neill’s responsibilities with the bank included providing counsel regarding deposits, loans, corporate matters, and personnel issues.  His responsibilities with the real estate development subsidiary included drafting the necessary documentation and agreements for the formation, operation, and dissolution of real estate development joint ventures, and the co-management with joint venture partners of various types of development projects.  The business experience Mr. O’Neill obtained while in the mortgage banking industry and acting as in-house counsel enables him to better relate to and counsel clients in business litigation matters. 

In 1992, Mr. O’Neill became employed by the Law Offices of Shawn F. Kelly in San Diego, California, a law firm specializing in civil litigation and business and real estate transactional work.  In 1993, he joined the Law Offices of Joseph J. Barr, Jr. & Associates, where he stayed until joining the Law Offices of Farmer Case Hack & Fedor in April of 2000.  While at the Law Offices of Joseph J. Barr, Jr. & Associates, Mr. O’Neill specialized in civil litigation (including insurance defense) and business and real estate transactional work.  Highlights of his work there included handling several insurance defense matters through trial preparation that resulted in defense verdicts, and receiving defense awards in several judicial arbitrations that Mr. O’Neill handled in insurance defense matters. 

Currently, Mr. O’Neill handles civil litigation matters (including insurance defense), and provides counsel and drafts documents relating to business and real estate matters.  The areas of practice he specializes in include products liability, directors’ and officers’ liability, general liability, premises liability, construction defects, and auto and trucking liability. 

Mr. O’Neill’s outside interests include golf and automobile racing.  He is an instructor at BMW Car Club of America driving schools and is an owner/driver of a race car that runs in BMW Car Club of America club races and National Auto Sport Association endurance races at various race tracks including Willow Springs, Buttonwillow, Sears Point, and Laguna Seca. 

Mr. O’Neill can be reached at doneill@farmercase.com