Megan O'Neill 

Megan O'Neill co-founded and gave her surname's initial to the DTO Law moniker in 2019, pledging the firm would be a minority- and women-owned voice for gender bias elimination and for diversity, equity and inclusion positivity.

With law partners William A. Delgado and Marcos M. Tarango, she intended that DTO could have a second meaning: Driven To Outperform.

It's working, O'Neill said. "We're very busy. It's been gangbusters. My practice the last two years has been even more class action-heavy with new and repeat customers." The firm is now up to 20 attorneys and has added a New York office. "That's been an excellent strategic move as we have gotten more and more New York cases."

Some big wins for Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. and Unilever plc have boosted the firm's profile, she added. "We've been building trust, in part by helping resolve cases that never get filed. Half of what I deal with are pre-litigation demands. The judgment to know which cases to fight versus settle and which demand letters can be disposed of without litigation is key."

O'Neill served as lead counsel for Walgreens in a potential class action alleging violations of California's Unruh Civil Rights Act and its consumer protection statutes. The plaintiff sought to represent consumers who allegedly paid a "pink tax" on women's Minoxidil because the hair growth product was priced higher than an identical men's version. Lowe v. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. et al., 3:21-cv-02852 (N.D. Cal., filed Apr. 20, 2021).

DTO successfully argued that the Unruh Act did not cover pricing differences in products. O'Neill and colleagues also raised a preemption defense. The court granted Walgreens' motion to dismiss in its entirety.

"In the end, it was our argument that the Unruh Act didn't apply to goods as opposed to services that prevailed," O'Neill said.

In the Unilever case, she led the team representing Liquid IV, a subsidiary, in a potential class action alleging false advertising regarding a "Hydration Multiplier" product. The parties stayed discovery early in the case, engaged in mediation and resolved the matter on an individual basis. Dolce v. The LIV Group, 7:22-cv-03858 (S.D. N.Y., filed May 12, 2022).

"It was a very favorable resolution and what clients liked to see was that it came very early in the case, before expensive discovery. A lot of our success is in knowing how to present our arguments to persuade the court that the plaintiff is overreaching. We downsize cases."

-- John Roemer