Meet The Partners

Anna O'Connor

Managing Partner

Biography

Anna Gonis O’Connor is a founding member and managing partner with the Third Coast Lawyers who has litigated more than 50 jury trials over the course of her career. As an advocate for those in need, Anna focuses her practice on general litigation, real estate, personal injury, nursing home, family law and toxic tort matters. She has extensive experience in all phases of litigation involving disputes in state, federal and multi-district proceedings.

Anna Gonis O’Connor is a founding member and managing partner with Third Coast Lawyers who has litigated more than 50 jury trials over the course of her career. As an advocate for those in need, Anna focuses her practice on general litigation, real estate, personal injury, nursing home, family law and toxic tort matters. She has extensive experience in all phases of litigation involving disputes in state, federal and multi-district proceedings.

In addition to Anna’s significant trial experience, she is an accredited Cook County arbitrator. This work provides a valuable perspective to her legal practice. In all of her representations, she works to obtain favorable solutions that meet her clients’ legal objectives.

In her prior practice as an Assistant State’s Attorney in the Complex Litigation Section of the Civil Actions Bureau, Anna handled a diverse caseload including federal civil rights litigation, reverse conviction cases, medical malpractice and tort cases. In February 2016, she successfully tried a federal class action jury trial with a finding of “not guilty” in favor of her client. Leonicio Elizarri v. The Sheriff of Cook County, 07 C 2427, (N.D. Ill., Gottschall).

In 2017, she drafted and argued a motion to dismiss the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, two prosecutors and one guardian ad litem, arguing prosecutorial immunity from a case pending in the Northern District of Illinois. Plaintiffs alleged constitutional violations under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985 state tort claims. On March 16, 2018, Judge Kokoras granted her motion in its entirety. Nicole Dickman, et al. v. Office of the State’s Attorney of Cook County, et al., 16 C 9448, (N.D. Ill., Kokoras).

In her prior role as defense counsel, Anna previously served as a senior member of the national coordinating counsel for several product manufacturers. In this role, she managed local counsel in the defense of her client in several jurisdictions nationwide. She determined the best defense strategy for asbestos and other personal injury and product liability claims and regularly coordinated with expert witnesses, took and defended depositions across the country, and negotiated thousands of favorable settlements.

In her previous employment in private practice, she succeeded on a motion for summary judgment on behalf of a premises client in a dram shop matter in Cook County, Illinois. The trial court’s ruling on the motion for summary judgment was appealed and ultimately decided in her client’s favor, confirming the trial court’s order. Brown v. Nitro Nightclub, Inc., 2014 IL. App (1st) 131245-U (June 30, 2014).

Anna is a passionate advocate to those in need. She was previously accredited by the Department of Veterans Affairs to assist indigent veterans with a variety of cases. She also volunteers with Chicago Volunteer Legal Services as a Guardian ad Litem, defending the best interest of minors.

A breast cancer survivor, Anna serves on the Board of Directors for the Lynn Sage Cancer Research Foundation, and is on the founding committee for the Hippocratic Cancer Research Foundation benefitting the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, where she assists in the organization of fundraising efforts to find a cure for cancer and regularly mentors women facing breast cancer.

Outside of the office, Anna enjoys spending time outdoors on hikes and traveling to national parks with her husband and two young children. She is also a certified managing real estate broker.

  • The John Marshall Law School, JD, 2006
  • Lake Forest College, BA, 2002
  • Illinois
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • United States District Court of Illinois — Trial Bar
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
  • Wisconsin
  • United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin
  • Missouri
  • Founding Committee for the Hippocratic Cancer Research Foundation via Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University
  • Board of Directors for the Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Foundation
  • Member at Large of the Women’s’ Network of Make-a-Wish IL
  • Guardian – ad Litem with Chicago Volunteer Legal Services
  • Member of the Chicago Bar Association

Shiel Gallagher

Of Counsel

Biography

Shiel M. Gallagher is a Juris Doctor who is driven by her passion for advocacy and consultancy for minority and marginalized individuals and small businesses. She has been an active member in the field of law for almost 20 years and has worked in the areas of tax lien negotiations, foreclosure defense, loan workouts, loss litigation, and counseled low-income families and small businesses on housing, legal, and financial matters.

Shiel M. Gallagher is a Juris Doctor who is driven by her passion for advocacy and consultancy for minority and marginalized individuals and small businesses. She has been an active member in the field of law for almost 20 years and has worked in the areas of tax lien negotiations, foreclosure defense, loan workouts, loss litigation, and counseled low-income families and small businesses on housing, legal, and financial matters.

She has now turned her focus toward personal injury in order to educate, empower, and engage immigrant and minority individuals who experience disproportionate injustices in their workplaces. Shiel is a powerful asset for minority clients and small and medium enterprises and leverages her litigation and counseling experience to solve high-stake and complicated cases in her clients’ favor.

As a woman and a person of color herself, Shiel understands the many issues and lack of access that minorities and immigrants face in the country. Armed with the commitment to making a difference for the minority community, Shiel strives to educate the working-class members, regardless of their immigration or residency status in the US, on their rights and empower them to make smart decisions when they suffer injury or encounter damage at work or anywhere else.

Shiel listens to each client’s concerns, needs, and queries and offers them practical and competent legal advice. As a responsible and hardworking individual who prioritizes work ethics, she recognizes and incorporates the value of hard work, perseverance, integrity, exceptional communication, and excellent client service when working on her cases.

She is regarded in the lawyer community as an excellent attorney who knows how to navigate and negotiate difficult issues and de-escalate controversial situations. She is known for seeing things from the point of view of her clients, understanding the internal pressures they face, and offering them sound and solid advice.

Shiel is not just fluent in English and Spanish but also in Hindi and Punjabi. While not working in her professional capacity, she continues to educate and empower the minority community about their rights and help them get access to legal representation. In her leisure time, she likes spending quality time with her family and friends, cooking and participating in the activities of her three kids

  • DePaul College of Law, JD, 2003
  • Lake Forest College, BA, 2000
  • Illinois
Shiel Gallagher
Managing Partner
Anna O’Connor
Managing Partner

About Us

Who We Are

Located in the Midwest, Third Coast Lawyers is a women and minority owned personal injury law firm that represents clients nationwide.

With over 35 years of combined legal experience, the attorneys at Third Coast are devoted to educating their clients about the legal process and possible causes of their injuries, empowering them to come forward and assert their rights, and engaging the best attorneys to help pursue legal remedies available to them.

 

Why Choose Us

Our Mission

All too often, especially with personal injury cases, people are mismatched with attorneys who have little to no experience dealing with the particular facts or complexities of a case.

OUR MISSION is to ensure that our clients have not only the best team of lawyers fighting for their rights, but also the right lawyers most experienced with their particular injury.

Third Coast Lawyers

Contact Us

Get to Know the Partners

Anna O’Connor

Anna Gonis O’Connor is a founding member and managing partner with the Third Coast Lawyers who has litigated more than 50 jury trials over the course of her career. As an advocate for those in need, Anna focuses her practice on general litigation, real estate, personal injury, nursing home, family law and toxic tort matters. She has extensive experience in all phases of litigation involving disputes in state, federal and multi-district proceedings.

In addition to Anna’s significant trial experience, she is an accredited Cook County arbitrator. This work provides a valuable perspective to her legal practice. In all of her representations, she works to obtain favorable solutions that meet her clients’ legal objectives.

In her prior practice as an Assistant State’s Attorney in the Complex Litigation Section of the Civil Actions Bureau, Anna handled a diverse caseload including federal civil rights litigation, reverse conviction cases, medical malpractice and tort cases. In February 2016, she successfully tried a federal class action jury trial with a finding of “not guilty” in favor of her client. Leonicio Elizarri v. The Sheriff of Cook County, 07 C 2427, (N.D. Ill., Gottschall).

In 2017, she drafted and argued a motion to dismiss the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, two prosecutors and one guardian ad litem, arguing prosecutorial immunity from a case pending in the Northern District of Illinois. Plaintiffs alleged constitutional violations under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985 state tort claims. On March 16, 2018, Judge Kokoras granted her motion in its entirety. Nicole Dickman, et al. v. Office of the State’s Attorney of Cook County, et al., 16 C 9448, (N.D. Ill., Kokoras).

In her prior role as defense counsel, Anna previously served as a senior member of the national coordinating counsel for several product manufacturers. In this role, she managed local counsel in the defense of her client in several jurisdictions nationwide. She determined the best defense strategy for asbestos and other personal injury and product liability claims and regularly coordinated with expert witnesses, took and defended depositions across the country, and negotiated thousands of favorable settlements.

In her previous employment in private practice, she succeeded on a motion for summary judgment on behalf of a premises client in a dram shop matter in Cook County, Illinois. The trial court’s ruling on the motion for summary judgment was appealed and ultimately decided in her client’s favor, confirming the trial court’s order. Brown v. Nitro Nightclub, Inc., 2014 IL. App (1st) 131245-U (June 30, 2014).

Anna is a passionate advocate to those in need. She was previously accredited by the Department of Veterans Affairs to assist indigent veterans with a variety of cases. She also volunteers with Chicago Volunteer Legal Services as a Guardian ad Litem, defending the best interest of minors.

A breast cancer survivor, Anna serves on the Board of Directors for the Lynn Sage Cancer Research Foundation, and is on the founding committee for the Hippocratic Cancer Research Foundation benefitting the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, where she assists in the organization of fundraising efforts to find a cure for cancer and regularly mentors women facing breast cancer.

Outside of the office, Anna enjoys spending time outdoors on hikes and traveling to national parks with her husband and two young children. She is also a certified managing real estate broker.

Education

  • The John Marshall Law School, JD, 2006
  • Lake Forest College, BA, 2002

Admissions

  • Illinois
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • United States District Court of Illinois — Trial Bar
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
  • Wisconsin
  • United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin
  • Missouri

Community Outreach and Boards

  • Founding Committee for the Hippocratic Cancer Research Foundation via Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University
  • Board of Directors for the Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Foundation
  • Member at Large of the Women’s’ Network of Make-a-Wish IL
  • Guardian – ad Litem with Chicago Volunteer Legal Services
  • Member of the Chicago Bar Association