Margaret O’Neill '03

Margaret O’Neill '03 attended Rutgers University and, just three years later, graduated summa cum laude. She went on to the University of Pennsylvania Law School, graduating in 2009, and has since practiced as an attorney in the field of commercial litigation. 

Her career began in the litigation department at Sunoco, Inc., in Philadelphia, where she was responsible for more than 800 cases annually involving the company, its subsidiaries, and affiliates. She assisted with matters involving product liability, environmental, trade agreement/contract litigation, and personal injury claims. 

In January 2018, at the age of 33, she made partner at Goodell, Devries, Leach, and Dann, LLP, where she specializes in product liability defense, including multi-district and mass tort litigation involving pharmaceutical and medical device companies’ prescription and over-the-counter branded and generic products, as well as catastrophic injury product claims involving material handling equipment. 

Margaret is currently the director of Regulatory Legal at Merck where she is responsible for providing a broad range of legal support, including advising the business on key marketing initiatives in the oncology and precision medicine spaces, collaborating closely with compliance, regulatory, and medical affairs teams. In addition, she provides legal advice on issues relating to informed consent and patient recruitment within clinical trials and global safety. Margaret works closely with colleagues within the U.S., as well as ex-U.S. counterparts, to ensure global alignment and consistency in approach. 

Not only is she a superstar litigator, but she is also committed to her community: She teaches Norristown high school students on various legal topics—criminal law, banking, employment rights and discrimination, gun laws, and more—through a program called Making Positive Choices. She mentors current law students through the Association of Corporate Counsel's DE&I mentorship program and acts as a volunteer child advocate attorney for clients living in the foster care system in Philadelphia. She is also a founding board member of Friends of Cristo Rey Philadelphia, which is part of a national network of independent high schools using a work-study model to provide a true college preparatory experience to low-income students.