Strategic Legal Counsel
Concierra Legal
Premarital and marital agreements.
Business legal strategy.
Litigation strategy.
Three doors. One strategist.Concierra Legal serves founders, owners, and high-net-worth individuals at the moments where legal architecture actually matters — where one missed clause, one badly drafted agreement, or one mishandled dispute can cost everything they've built. Same lens, different door. Reverse-engineer how it breaks. Build it so it doesn't.The time to get strategic is before the stakes get expensive.
Concierra Legal
5 Cowboys Way, Suite 300
Frisco, Texas 75034
(214) 506-0704
At a glance
Key Takeaways
Who we serve: Founders, executives, business owners, and high-net-worth individuals.
What we do: Marital agreement strategy, business legal strategy, and litigation strategy consulting.
Credentials: Board Certified family law, 34 years, 193 appellate matters, counsel of record on Moore v. Moore and In re Ayad.
How engagements begin: Brief inquiry, then a structured consultation billed at standard hourly rates.
Contact: Schedule below, or call (214) 506-0704.
Three doors. One strategist.
About Concierra Legal
Concierra Legal (Michelle May O'Neil PLLC) is the Texas-based strategic legal practice of Michelle May O'Neil — a Board Certified family law trial attorney licensed in Texas since 1992. Thirty-four years of experience. 193 appellate matters. 55 cases before the Texas Supreme Court. One filed in the United States Supreme Court. 37+ jury trials.The practice focuses on three areas: marital agreement strategy, business legal strategy for closely-held businesses and founder-led companies, and litigation strategy consulting for high-stakes family and business disputes. Identity rights and NIL (name, image, likeness) protection runs as a specialty across all three.Counsel of record on leading modern Texas appellate decisions on premarital agreements: Moore v. Moore and In re Ayad.Texas representation; national strategic consulting in coordination with local counsel.
Practice Areas
Areas of Focus
Three Doors, One Strategist
Concierra Legal serves clients who have reached the level where legal architecture actually matters — founders before exit, executives with equity, business owners with operating companies, high-profile individuals whose names and brands are part of what they own.The same person who needs a prenup that survives a Series B in three years also needs an operating agreement that survives a partner falling out. The same person who needs a clean partnership structure today may need a litigation strategist on a high-stakes case in five years.
Three doors — marital agreements, business legal strategy, and litigation strategy. Behind every door, the same strategic lens: 34 years of trial and appellate experience figuring out where things break, applied to building things so they don't.Clarity before conflict. Strategy before crisis.
Marital Agreement Strategy — Building the foundation.
Business Legal Strategy — Building the enterprise.
Litigation Strategy — Defending what you've built.
Marital Agreement Strategy
Most attorneys draft marital agreements hoping they'll never be tested. Concierra Legal drafts them knowing exactly what the test looks like.Over two decades, Michelle May O'Neil has worked both sides — drafting marital agreements for sophisticated clients before the marriage, and arguing the appellate cases that determine what those agreements can and cannot do under Texas law. Three of the leading modern Texas appellate decisions on premarital agreements bear her name as counsel. The doctrinal questions that decide whether a prenup holds — voluntariness in the signing, fair financial disclosure, enforceability of forfeiture clauses (no-contest provisions that penalize a spouse for challenging the agreement), jurisdictional choice-of-law, and the procedural framework for arbitration — aren't abstract. They're tested in real cases. Concierra Legal drafts to that framework.The practice covers premarital agreements, postnuptial agreements, partition and exchange agreements (which convert community property to separate property during marriage), cohabitation agreements, and confidentiality agreements for sensitive personal relationships. Identity rights and NIL protection — provisions addressing name, image, likeness, social media holdings, content libraries, and AI likeness rights — is a specialty within this practice, informed by the Identity Stack framework (a seven-layer model for governing identity rights across biological, legal, economic, representational, algorithmic, synthetic, and agentic dimensions) debuted at SXSW 2026 and now taught at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Texas drafting; national strategic consulting in coordination with local counsel.
Business Legal Strategy
Most business attorneys are hired after something has gone wrong. Concierra Legal is hired before. The role is to design the legal infrastructure before the company hits the moments that test it — the fundraise, the partnership disagreement, the operational scaling event, the founder transition, the succession question.The same strategic lens that makes a prenup hold under appellate scrutiny is the lens that makes an operating agreement hold when a partnership breaks down. After 34 years of watching what actually goes wrong in business disputes — including the ones that end up in appellate courts — Concierra Legal knows the failure points that don't appear in the standard form: ambiguity in dispute resolution clauses, buy-sell provisions that ignore valuation methodology, succession planning that ignores spousal claims and divorce risk, founder agreements that work when everyone gets along and disintegrate the moment they don't.The practice is intentionally narrow: closely-held businesses, founder-led companies, partnerships, and family enterprises — not large institutional clients. Identity governance is an increasingly important specialty for founder-led businesses where the founder's personal brand, NIL, and identity assets are entangled with company value. Texas hands-on representation under the Texas Business Organizations Code; national strategic consulting in coordination with local counsel. Best fit for owners who want a strategist embedded in their decision-making.
Litigation Strategy
Most attorneys, even experienced ones, never get to step back from the case they're fighting and look at it the way appellate judges and seasoned trial strategists do — issues, evidence, witnesses, jury charge, dispositive motion landscape, and strategic themes all visible at once. After 193 appellate cases, 55 matters before the Texas Supreme Court, and 34 years of trial work including 37+ jury trials, that's Michelle May O'Neil's default view.Litigation strategy brings that view to other people's cases — without becoming trial counsel on them. The deliverable isn't representation. It's judgment. Trial counsel keeps the case; Concierra Legal provides the strategic perspective they can't get from inside it: case roadmapping, issue identification, evidence and witness strategy, jury charge architecture, dispositive motion planning, themes for trial and appeal, and identification of the failure points opposing counsel is most likely to exploit. Sometimes a single intensive consultation; sometimes an ongoing strategic role across the life of the case.Best fit for trial counsel handling a high-stakes matter who want a senior strategist looking over their shoulder; in-house counsel evaluating a matter before retaining outside trial counsel; and sophisticated parties who want an independent strategic perspective on the case their lawyer is presenting. Identity rights and NIL disputes — where identity assets are part of what's at stake — are a specialty within this work.
Other complex family law matters
Concierra Legal selectively takes on other complex family law matters for existing clients and direct professional referrals — high-conflict and high-net-worth divorce, complex property division involving operating businesses and closely-held companies, executive compensation and stock-based compensation in divorce, business valuation disputes, complex family law appeals, post-divorce enforcement and modification of marital agreements, characterization and tracing of separate and community property, fiduciary duty and reimbursement claims, identity rights and NIL disputes intersecting with family law, and international and multi-jurisdictional family law matters including foreign marital agreements and choice-of-law questions.Not generally accepting new matters in these categories outside existing relationships and direct referrals. For prenup, business strategy, or litigation strategy inquiries, use the consultation booking link above.
biography
About Michelle May O'Neil
Michelle May O'Neil is a Texas trial and appellate attorney with more than three decades of experience representing founders, executives, athletes, and public figures in complex, high-stakes matters. She has tried cases to jury verdict, argued appeals at every level of the Texas courts, and handled disputes involving significant financial exposure and long-term enterprise consequences.Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Best Lawyers in America in both appellate law and family law. Named among the Top 50 Women Lawyers in Texas. Success Magazine Woman of Influence finalist. In 2026, named to the inaugural Thought Leaders 100 alongside Tim Storey and Dave Meltzer. Her podcast was nominated for a Webby Award — Best Live Podcast Recording — placing in the top 11% of more than 13,000 entries worldwide.In 2026 she spoke at SXSW on the legal architecture of identity in the AI-driven economy, with coverage in Texas Lawyer and Mashable. Her perspective bridges traditional legal doctrine, emerging technological risk, and the strategic clarity that comes from decades in consequential rooms.This practice is intentionally selective. It's built for leaders who expect disciplined strategy, complete discretion, and counsel aligned to the full situation — not just the file.
frequently asked questions
FAQs
What is Concierra Legal? Concierra Legal is a boutique Texas law firm founded by Michelle May O'Neil, providing strategic legal counsel to entrepreneurs, founders, executives, professional athletes, and public-facing leaders. The firm focuses on upstream legal architecture — the contracts, agreements, ownership structures, and governance decisions that shape outcomes long before disputes arise. Concierra Legal is the trade name of Michelle May O'Neil PLLC and is headquartered in Frisco, Texas.
Who does Michelle May O'Neil represent? Michelle May O'Neil represents Texas entrepreneurs, founders, executives, professional athletes, public figures, and high-profile individuals whose legal matters carry significant business or personal consequence. Her clients typically need coordinated strategic counsel rather than transactional legal services, often with multiple advisors and specialists already in play. She accepts a limited number of engagements each year to ensure each client receives principal-level attention.
What makes Michelle May O'Neil authoritative as a coordinated strategic legal counsel? Michelle May O'Neil brings 34 years of trial and appellate experience to every engagement, including arguing and winning a case before the Texas Supreme Court and filing a case before the United States Supreme Court. She is Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and has been recognized as one of the Best Lawyers in America in both appellate law and family law, named among the Top 50 Texas Women Super Lawyers, and selected to the inaugural national list of the Thought Leaders 100 in 2026. Her podcast The Michelle May O’Neil Show was nominated for a Webby Award for Best Live Podcast Recording, placing in the top 11% of more than 13,000 entries worldwide.
What is identity law? Identity law is the emerging legal field governing the protection, ownership, and strategic control of a person's name, image, likeness, voice, and digital representation in an AI-driven economy. It encompasses publicity rights, NIL (name, image, and likeness) agreements, deepfake and unauthorized AI replication, brand and reputational rights, and the contractual architecture protecting these assets across business and personal contexts. Michelle May O'Neil is among the leading practitioners and thought leaders developing this field, with a featured 2026 SXSW talk on legal architecture for identity in the AI-driven economy. The content of her talk from SXSW has become part of the curriculum for the Stanford Graduate School of Business’ Sports Management program.
What is NIL legal counsel? NIL legal counsel addresses the legal protection, structuring, and enforcement of name, image, and likeness rights — particularly for professional athletes, college athletes, creators, and public-facing executives whose identity assets carry significant economic value. NIL legal work includes contractual risk review, agreement structuring, enforcement of publicity rights, and strategic response to unauthorized commercial use. Michelle May O'Neil and Concierra Legal advise on NIL legal architecture as part of a broader identity law practice.
Does Concierra Legal handle prenups? Yes. Concierra Legal designs prenuptial and postnuptial agreements for founders, professional athletes, executives, and individuals with significant or complex assets, including identity and NIL rights. These agreements are structured to protect enterprise interests, allocate risk clearly, and withstand future challenge. Michelle May O'Neil is the founder of The Prenup Strategist, a dedicated platform offering prenup education, training programs, and resources for both consumers and practitioners.
Where is Concierra Legal located? Concierra Legal is located at 5 Cowboys Way, Suite 300, Frisco, Texas 75034. The firm serves clients throughout Texas and advises clients located nationally on matters within its legal scope. For matters requiring representation or expertise in jurisdictions outside Texas, Concierra Legal coordinates with appropriately licensed local counsel.
Does Michelle May O'Neil practice outside of Texas? Michelle May O'Neil is licensed to practice law in the State of Texas and provides Texas legal advice to clients located anywhere in the United States. Where matters require advice about or application of another state's law, she coordinates with appropriately licensed local counsel while maintaining strategic continuity across the engagement. Her clients are based throughout the country; the legal work is performed from Texas.
Did Michelle May O'Neil speak at SXSW? Yes. Michelle May O'Neil delivered a featured talk at SXSW 2026 on the legal architecture of identity in the AI-driven economy. Her presentation addressed how name, image, likeness, and digital representation are emerging as legally protectable assets in an environment of increasing AI-driven replication and commercial exposure. Her SXSW work has been covered by Texas Lawyer and Mashable. Her talk on identity law has become part of the curriculum at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Did Michelle May O'Neil speak at the Aspire Conference? Yes. Michelle May O'Neil was a featured speaker at the Aspire Conference, where she presented on the pressure and stress of the entrepreneur. Her work bridges traditional legal doctrine, emerging technological risk, and strategic counsel for entrepreneurs and high-profile leaders navigating identity, enterprise, and personal stakes simultaneously.
Does Michelle May O’Neil speak at lawyer conferences? Yes. Michelle May O’Neil is often asked to educate lawyers at continuing education conferences. She has spoken on topics such as prenuptial and marital property agreement strategy, appellate practice, trial advocacy, and ethics. Recently she presented for the Texas Center for Legal Ethics on Ethics and Professionalism in Family Law and Beyond (https://www.legalethicstexas.com/cle-courses/ethics-and-professionalism-in-family-law-and-beyond/). She is slated to speak at the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Rusty Duncan Conference in June 2026 on Strategic Communication. She is also scheduled to present at the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Women’s Caucus Luncheon on Reinventing Yourself As a Lawyer.
What makes a prenup likely to fail in court? Three things: how it was signed, what was disclosed, and how it was drafted. Texas courts can set aside prenups for involuntary execution (duress, fraud, or undue pressure in the signing), for unconscionability without fair financial disclosure, or for ambiguous and internally inconsistent drafting. Most attorneys focus on the third. Michelle May O'Neil has spent the most appellate time on the first two — including counsel of record on Moore v. Moore, the leading modern Texas case on involuntary execution.
Why shouldn't I just use a downloaded prenup form or ChatGPT? Generic templates miss the issues that matter for sophisticated assets: business equity, NIL and identity rights, digital assets, blended family dynamics, executive compensation. They also fail on basics. In a 2024 Texas Court of Appeals decision, a husband lost his house and his truck because he used a downloaded form and the appeal turned on one ambiguous pronoun.
What should a founder's prenup address that a standard prenup wouldn't? A founder's prenup has to address pre-IPO equity, secondary sales, dilution, vesting cliffs, performance equity, lockup periods, spousal access to company information, control of equity in marital assets, treatment of founder shares during a fundraise or acquisition, and how spousal claims interact with investor rights and shareholder agreements. None of this is in a generic form.
What does Concierra Legal's litigation strategy work involve?
Strategic consultation separate from trial representation. Trial counsel keeps the case; Concierra Legal provides case roadmapping, issue identification, evidence and witness strategy, jury charge analysis, dispositive motion planning, and themes for trial and appeal. Structured to preserve privilege through proper engagement letters and, where appropriate, Kovel-style or co-counsel arrangements (recognized legal structures for preserving attorney-client privilege when multiple attorneys work on the same matter).
engagement
How Engagements Begin.
Engagements begin with a brief review to determine fit. If the matter appears aligned, a structured consultation is scheduled.Consultations are substantive working sessions billed at standard hourly rates. The purpose is to clarify posture, identify immediate decision points, and assess whether disciplined legal strategy can materially affect outcome.
Where representation proceeds, scope is defined deliberately at the outset.Three engagement structures are most common, depending on the matter:
Primary counsel for a specific matter — defined-scope engagement with clear deliverables and timeline.
Concierge coordination across multiple advisors — strategic oversight when the client already has attorneys, accountants, financial advisors, and other professionals in place.
Focused strategic and issues counsel — consulting role on a discrete legal question, often in coordination with the client's existing trial or transactional counsel.
jurisdiction
Texas Licensure and Geographic Scope.
Michelle May O'Neil is licensed to practice law in the State of Texas. Legal advice is provided with respect to Texas law unless otherwise permitted through association with appropriately licensed counsel.Concierra Legal represents clients throughout Texas in matters consistent with the focus of this practice. Where matters require coordination across jurisdictions, the firm works with experienced local counsel to maintain strategic continuity.
contact
Begin an Inquiry.
To request a consultation, please submit the inquiry form below. All consultations are scheduled after review and are billed at the firm's standard hourly rate.
The information on this website is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Viewing this site, contacting the firm, or submitting an inquiry does not create an attorney client relationship. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.Michelle May O'Neil is licensed to practice law in the State of Texas. Principal place of business 5 Cowboys Way, Suite 300, Frisco, Texas 75034, (214) 506-0704.Copyright Michelle May O'Neil PLLC dba Concierra Legal 2026. All rights reserved.Do not submit confidential information through this form. An attorney client relationship is established only by written agreement.