Richard D. O'Neil 

                                                    

Richard D. O'Neil is a shareholder of the Firm, Chairman of the Board of Directors, a member of the Firm’s Shareholder Compensation Committee and a member of the Firm's Pension Committee.  Mr. O’Neil is a member of the Firm’s Public Law, Environmental and Litigation Sections. He was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1979 and is licensed to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. He was educated at the University of New Hampshire (BA, cum laude, 1975) and St. Mary's University (JD, 1978). He received the United States Law Week Award in 1978. Additionally, Mr. O’Neil is Martindale-Hubbell “AV Rated”, indicating the highest level of legal ability and ethical standards.

He served as an Assistant City Attorney for the City of San Antonio from 1978 to 1990, managing real estate acquisitions, construction, engineering and environmental matters.  Additionally, he provided legal counseling to the City of San Antonio Public Works Department, the VIA Metropolitan Transit Authority, and the Downtown Owners Association during the redevelopment of San Antonio's downtown utility infrastructure and streetscape under a three year Urban Mass Transit Authority Grant.  Other notable projects included reconstruction of Municipal Auditorium, Convention Center expansions, Riverwalk extensions, Airport expansions, and Wastewater System expansions.  Mr. O’Neil has a wide range of experience with various regulatory “contested case” hearings, alternative dispute resolution and litigation forums.

Mr. O'Neil also represented the City of San Antonio in state and federal court in various environmental compliance matters including a complicated federal consent decree involving the Department of Justice and industrial wastewater pretreatment compliance. He appeared in contested case hearings before the Texas Public Utility Commission, the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (now known as Texas Commission on Environmental Quality), and the Texas Department of Health involving utility rate disputes, wastewater plant, landfill, stormwater runoff, sludge application and low level radiation permitting matters.

Mr. O’Neil represents both public and private construction project owners, and contractors, in developing project management and construction agreements and resolving disputes arising during construction.  He has experience in acquiring real estate and remediating contaminated real estate.

He is a member of the San Antonio Bar Association and the State Bar of Texas, and has served as the Chair of the Environmental Law Section of the San Antonio Bar Association.  He served for six years on the State Bar steering committee for the Natural Resources and Environmental Law Section. He has been a member of the International Right-of-Way Association, the Association of Metropolitan Sewer Agencies National Legal Affairs Committee, and the San Antonio Manufacturer's Association Environmental Affairs Committee.  He is the immediate past President of the San Antonio Kiwanis Club and serves on the Board of Directors of the Boysville Foster Home.

roneil@davidsontroilo.com