Rita-Anne O'Neill

Practice Areas

M&A, Private Equity.

Career

Rita O’Neill is a partner in S&C’s Los Angeles office, a member of the Firm’s M&A Group and serves as co-head of the Firm’s Global Private Equity Group. A leader in strategic and Private Equity M&A, Rita’s ability to seamlessly transition between strategic M&A and Private Equity makes her a go-to advisor for highly complex transactions and competitive auction processes—particularly for clients eager to creatively take advantage of current market disruptions—including taking private undervalued public companies by sponsors and strategic minority investments.

Over the course of her career, Rita has been sought out by leading global clients within a variety of industries, including consumer and retail, financial services, healthcare and life sciences, industrials, semiconductors, telecommunications and transportation. Recent clients include Ares Management, Crescent Capital, FTX, Lion Capital, Oaktree Capital, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Royal Philips, among others.

Rita is the current vice-chair and incoming chair of the ABA M&A Committee and co-chair of the ABA Acquisition of Public Companies Subcommittee. She serves as Co-Chair of the Tulane Corporate Law Institute and the Cambridge Forum on US Private Equity. Rita is also committed to advancing women in the legal profession and in M&A. She is the Co-Founder and Co-Chair of WiMA, a network of senior women M&A dealmakers focused on business generation, a member of S&C’s Women’s Initiative Committee, and a past Co-Chair of the ABA’s Women in M&A Subcommittee. She regularly participates on panels and guest lectures on M&A and gender diversity.

An accomplished dealmaker whose business savvy and long-term client relationships have made her a leader in her field, Rita has been named a “Top Woman in Dealmaking” by The Deal twice and was named among the most influential Women in Mid-Market M&A by Mergers & Acquisitions. She was also recently shortlisted for “Lawyer of the Year” in Chambers Diversity & Inclusion Awards and for “Private Equity Lawyer of the Year” by Euromoney Women in Business Law Awards. She has also been recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of the “Most Influential Private Equity Investors and Advisors” and as one of the “Women Making a Difference” in Los Angeles.

Before earning her JD from Boston College Law School, Rita graduated from Wellesley College with a B.A. Following law school, she clerked for the Honorable Norman H. Stahl on the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Professional Memberships

ABA M&A Committee (Vice Chair); ABA Acquisition of Public Companies Subcommittee (Co-Chair); Women in M&A Network (WiMA) (Co-Founder and Co-Chair); Tulane Corporate Law Institute (Co-Chair); Cambridge Forum on US Private Equity (Co-Chair); Boston College Law School Dean’s Advisory Board (Member)