Photo of Michelle O'Neil

Michelle May O'Neil has 30+ years’ experience representing small business owners, professionals, and individuals in litigation related to family law matters such as divorce, child custody, and complex property division. Described by one lawyer as "a lethal combination of sweet-and-salty", Ms. O'Neil exudes genuine compassion for her client's difficulties, yet she can be relentless when in pursuit of a client's goals. One judge said of Ms. O'Neil, "She cannot be out-gunned, out-briefed, or out-lawyered!"

Family Law Specialist

Ms. O'Neil became a board-certified family law specialist by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in 1997 and has maintained her certification since that time. While representing clients in litigation before the trial court is an important part of her practice, Ms. O'Neil also handles appellate matters in the trial court, courts of appeals and Texas Supreme Court. Lawyers frequently consult with Ms. O'Neil on their litigation cases about specialized legal issues requiring particularized attention both at the trial court and appellate levels. This gives her a unique perspective and depth of perception that benefits both her litigation and appellate clients.

Top Lawyers in Texas and America

Ms. O’Neil has been named to the list of Texas SuperLawyers for many years, a peer-voted honor given to only about 5% of the lawyers in the state of Texas. Ms. O'Neil received the special honor of being named by Texas SuperLawyers as one of the Top 50 Women Lawyers in Texas, Top 100 Lawyers in Texas, and Top 100 Lawyers in DFW for multiple years. She was named one of the Best Lawyers in America and received an "A-V" peer review rating by Martindale-Hubbell Legal Directories for the highest quality legal ability and ethical standards.

Author and Speaker

A noted author, Ms. O'Neil released her second book Basics of Texas Divorce Law in November 2010, with a second edition released in 2013, and a third edition expected in 2015.  Her first book, All About Texas Law and Kids, was published in September 2009 by Texas Lawyer Press. In 2012, Ms. O’Neil co-authored the booklets What You Need To Know About Common Law Marriage In Texas and Social Study Evaluations.  The State Bar of Texas and other providers of continuing education for attorneys frequently enlist Ms. O'Neil to provide instruction to attorneys on topics of her expertise in the family law arena.

What are the top 10 cases involving Texas LGBT rights in family law cases? Let’s discuss the relevant US Supreme Court cases involving LGBT rights and then move to the relevant Texas cases.

Here’s a link to my video: https://fb.watch/7vHXl76g1g/

Here’s a link to my pdf that I used during the presentation: Top 10 LGBT

In an opinion today that will no doubt cause a Pandora’s Box to open in the family courts, the Texas Supreme Court held that “as agreed” possession orders are authorized, valid, and constitutional. Based on the broad and undefined standards of “good cause” and “best interest”, a possession order that gives one party unlimited and

Texas new discovery rules
Texas New Discovery Rules

I feel like everyone should know by now that we have new discovery rules that have changed the game on a lot of things. Example, we don’t *send* a request for disclosure anymore. Instead, there’s a set of mandatory disclosures that are automatic and have deadlines with

In 2017, the Dallas Court of Appeals quietly and with zero fanfare released the In re Sting Soccer opinion. It is an unpublished memorandum opinion, but it chocks a huge, unexpected punch to discovery-as-we-knew-it. Basically, it makes a lot of our standard objections illegal, with the effect of broadening the scope of discovery immeasurably. Note

(This post has been updated to reflect the current and final information about the new 2021 discovery rules.)

The Texas Supreme Court has released new discovery rules that will be effective January 1, 2021. While these rules are still under review and subject to change, they are so significant that they warrant review now even