Michael J. O'Donnell

Experience

Michael advises and litigates on behalf of clients in all areas of civil litigation, including employment and civil rights, defamation, contract disputes, fraud, securities, and class actions. He practices regularly in state and federal courts, has represented clients in mediations, and recently co-chaired a jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Michael has practiced at RCC since January 2008. Before joining the firm, he clerked for Judge Ann Claire Williams of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (2007 - 2008) and worked as a staff attorney at the Seventh Circuit (2004 - 2006).

Representative Engagements

• Obtained a favorable settlement for a client in a disability discrimination case against a Fortune 500 hotel company after proceedings in the Northern District of Illinois.
• Secured an opinion letter from the Illinois Attorney General for a transgender client on a novel question of spousal benefits law under the Illinois Teachers Retirement Service.
• Represented the CFO of a technology firm in a contribution action in state court, obtaining the dismissal of a third-party complaint against client.
• Represented a biotechnology company in an insurance coverage dispute in Illinois state court, achieving a favorable settlement result.
• Obtained a favorable settlement in a contract and gender discrimination action after proceedings in the Northern District of Illinois on behalf of a banking executive in a dispute with a Fortune 500 company.
• Briefed an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on behalf of plaintiffs in an ongoing class action against Geico Insurance.
• Represent a class of plaintiffs in an ongoing securities fraud class action against Navistar International.

Education

• Boston College Law School, J.D., magna cum laude, 2004; Order of the Coif; Editor-in-Chief, Boston College Third World Law Journal 
• Indiana University, B.A., with distinction, 2001

Bar Admissions

• Illinois
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Publications

• Reading for Terrorism: Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act and the Constitutional Right to Information Privacy, Notre Dame Journal of Legislation, Vol. 31 (2005).
• A Turn for the Worse: Foreign Relations, Corporate Human Rights Abuse, and the Courts, Boston College Third World Law Journal, Vol. 24 (2004).
• Genocide, the United Nations, and the Death of Absolute Rights, Boston College Third World Law Journal, Vol. 23 (2003).

Michael regularly contributes essays and book reviews on legal topics to publications such as The Nation, the Washington Monthly, the Los Angeles Times, the Christian Science Monitor, and the San Francisco Chronicle.