Lou O'Neill

Lou O'Neill Returns to the United States to Study Law at the Harvard Law School

In the fall of 1992, Lou O'Neill was hired to work for The Moscow Times, which had just expanded from a twice-weekly English-language paper in Moscow, Russia, to a daily one. He was one of the early hires and was to be in charge of the advertising design and production department, overseeing a team of six. Thanks to his language skills, his experience at Moscow State University and his abilities, Lou ONeill was also asked to write stories for the paper. He wrote mostly on business and economics, feature stories and for the various Moscow Times Guides.

In the fall of 1993, Lou O'Neill returned to the United States to study law at the Harvard Law School. In addition to the regular introductory course load, Lou ONeill conducted research on the post-Soviet states and played a collaborative role at Harvard's Russian Research Center, particularly when scholars would visit from Russia. In summer 1994 he worked for the Harvard Institute for International Development's (HIID) Legal Reform Project, and in summer 1995 he clerked for the New York office of White & Case, LLP. Upon passing the New York Bar Exam, Lou O'Neill worked for a year with the HIID project on legal and structural reform in Russia. He managed a large team of Russian lawyers and foreign consultants and drafted laws on zoning, securities regulation and financial markets, among other things.

In fall 1997 Lou O'Neill returned to the United States and joined White & Case, LLP as an Associate. He worked in the Corporate and Litigation Departments for two years and handled matters ranging from intellectual property litigation to transnational transactions. Lou O'Neill advanced numerous pro bono matters on the firm's behalf and would ultimately receive the Legal Aid Society's 2000 Pro Bono award for these efforts.

 

Ambassador Lou O'Neill, Head of OSCE Mission to Moldova