Assistant Legal

Dr. Peter O’Neill

** ****** *** ******@*****.***

Barrington, RI 02806 401-***-****

Objective: To vibrantly channel my love of language and literature into a satisfying writing or editorial position. Ideally, I will apply to any writing task what the guru William Zinsser suggests: namely, “to strip every sentence to its cleanest components.” With honed editorial acumen, I relish removing clutter and confusion from prose. In short, I strive to achieve simplicity for a given reader, whether in the context of business, healthcare, marketing or law. To me, this is both satisfying and practical.

EDUCATION Iona College, West Virginia University, B.A. in English and History

West Virginia University, M.A. in English

Louisiana State University, Ph.D. in English, 2001

EDITORIAL/LEGAL EXPERIENCE

Contract Legal Assistant, Fulbirght & Jaworski, Houston, TX, May 2001-October 2001.

participated in an intense document review for a breach-of-contract case, involving the construction of an international power plant.

assiduously searched for and summarized into the database relevant issues, including letters of credit, contractual matters, and Force Majeure claims.

Full-time Legal Assistant, McFall, Sherwood & Breitbeil, Houston, TX, May 1998-March 2001.

summarized answers to interrogatories in large, class-action asbestos and silicosis cases.

wrote a “chronology of events” corporate narrative, outlining our client’s knowledge of the health risks of asbestos.

summarized media, scientific, and regulatory articles.

searched for “hot documents,” crucial to our corporate defense strategy.

periodically consulted with attorneys about my findings.

proofread several briefs for attorneys, as well as suggested ways to integrate an apt metaphor into the attorney’s summation.

Contract Legal Assistant, Shell Oil, Houston, TX, May 1997-May 1998.

Summarized reports and hygiene-monitoring forms related to benzene.

Contract Legal Assistant, Clements, O’Neill, Pierce & Nickens, September 1996-April 1997.

coded diverse documents for a toxic tort case involving the alleged contamination of residents’ water wells by an energy company’s gas wells.

summarized depositions of expert witnesses related to this case.

Instructor for Paralegal Writing, The Center for Advanced Legal Studies, Houston, TX, January

1995-May 1996.

taught research writing and critical reading skills to paralegal students.

meticulously commented on and graded various student writing assignments.

Freelance Writer, Merrill Lynch, Houston, TX, 2000.

prepared a marketing statement for a financial planner.

Freelance Writer, Gossen Livingston, Houston, TX, 2001.

Helped an architecture firm compose a bid proposal to build a college fine arts center in Texas.

Proofreader/Project Editor, American Council of Life Insurance, Washington, D.C. (four years)

proofread voluminous galleys of material related to state life and health insurance laws

examined font type, font size, leading, margins, and many other formatting specifications.

meticulously combed the copy for grammar and usage errors.

worked closely with typesetters until the copy was camera ready

ACADEMIC EDITORIAL EXPERIENCE

Critical Reader, Henry James Review, Spring 1993.

Critiqued scholarly articles submitted for publication and met periodically with editor and staff to evaluate the submissions.

Indexer, A Companion to Henry James Studies (1993), Fall 1992.

Laboriously created annotated index cards for miscellaneous subject and topics headings from many scholarly essays on Henry James.

Scientific Proofreader, Agricultural Publications/Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service,

Louisiana State University, Fall 1992 to Spring 1993.

Proofread and edited scholarly manuscripts related to agriculture for journal articles, book chapters, and grant proposals.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Johnson and Wales University, Providence, RI, August 2012-May 2014.

• created thematic courses for composition and research writing courses; topics included work, family, and prison culture.

• arranged viewings of relevant films.

• assigned two paired oral presentations: one dealing with grammar and usage; the other involving an interpretive approach to a text or a film.

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, Spring 2008 to Fall 2008.

• fashioned a syllabus for a literature-based composition course entitled “Allegories of Social Order.” Texts included The Tempest, select poetry from A Pocketful of Poems, and the documentary Capturing the Friedmans, to a name a few examples.

• assigned paired oral presentations of literary interpretations.

• met in conference periodically with students who wanted to discuss literature or drafts of their term essay.

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, Fall 2004 to Spring 2006.

• taught literature-based research writing that revolved around a naturalist theme.

The following texts were used: Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, Janisse Ray’s memoir Ecology of a Cracker Childhood, Susan Orlean’s The Orchid Thief, the film Adaptation, and a packet of naturalist essays, poems, and manifestoes.

• taught business communications to mostly seniors.

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