Brenda O’Neal

Ms. O’Neal joined the firm in 2017 as Of Counsel in the Real Estate Section. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1989, her M.S.S.W. in Social Work from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1992, and her J.D. from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles in 1999. She was admitted to the State Bar of Texas in 2001.

Before practicing law, she worked as a clinical social worker at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas from 1991 to 1995, specializing in Hepatology (including transplant), Gastroenterology, and Immunology services (including HIV/AIDS). From 1994 to 1999, she served as the founder and project manager of L.A. P.A.L.S. (Los Angeles Pediatric AIDS Legal Services) at the Alliance for Children’s Rights, where she worked full-time providing legal permanency planning for children of parents with HIV/AIDS while attending law school part-time.

After graduating from law school, she practiced as an associate and later Of Counsel at Haynes and Boone, LLP, from 2001 to 2015.

She has extensive experience in a wide range of real estate transactions, including acquisition, development, financing, leasing, and disposition of industrial, multi-family, office, hospitality, and retail properties. Her practice focuses particularly on retail acquisitions and development.

O’Neal is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the Dallas Bar Association. She is also the founder of Brenda’s Hip Pockets, a Texas nonprofit organization that produces drain pouches for women recovering from breast cancer surgeries.