David A. O’Neil

David A. O’Neil is a litigation partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Debevoise & Plimpton, and a member of the firm’s White Collar & Regulatory Defense Group.

His practice focuses on AML/sanctions enforcement defence, white collar criminal defence, internal investigations, privacy and cyber security, and congressional investigations.

Prior to joining Debevoise in January 2015, Mr. O’Neil served for eight years in prominent positions within the Department of Justice, including leading the Criminal Division, serving as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Fraud Section, serving as Senior Associate Deputy Attorney General and Chief of Staff to the Deputy Attorney General, and serving as Assistant to the Solicitor General. In his time at the Department of Justice, Mr. O’Neil was responsible for enforcement and prosecution efforts across the full spectrum of federal crimes.

Mr. O’Neil’s recent publications include ‘Staying A Step Ahead,’ International Financial Law Review (July, 2015); “Enforcement Scrutiny Falling On Individuals,” The National Law Journal (May, 2015) and “New York State Department Of Financial Services Expands Its Cyber Focus To Insurers,” FC&S Legal (April, 2015).

Mr. O’Neil earned his J.D., magna cum laude, in 2000 from Harvard Law School, where he was an Editor of the Harvard Law Review. He graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University, with a B.A. in History in 1995.

Upon graduation from law school, he clerked for two years, first for Judge Robert D. Sack of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and then for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.