About Erin
Erin McNally trained as a student of ideas and the law. She earned a B.A. from Macalester College in 1981 and completed her J.D. at Western State University College of Law in 1986. Those years framed her early direction and launched a long career in public defense and private practice in California.
She entered practice in 1986 and soon took a post as a deputy public defender in 1987 at the Shasta County District Lawyer's Office. The courtroom became familiar territory. She handled arraignments, hearings and trials while learning the routines of county practice and the pressures of public defense work.
By 1995 she served as a contract lawyer for the Shasta County Public Defender. That role extended her time working on behalf of clients who could not afford private counsel and gave her repeated exposure to criminal procedure and trial preparation. The record shows a steady involvement in matters commonly handled by county defense offices: client interviews, case investigations and courtroom advocacy.
Alongside and after those county roles, she maintained a private practice under the name Erin McNally Lawyer at Law. Records also list her office as Erin O Toole-McNally, Lawyer at Law. Across both private and public roles, she developed practical knowledge of court processes and client representation in California courts. Colleagues and court filings reflect a career spent largely on the defense side of criminal cases.
She maintains professional memberships and remains connected to the legal community. That involvement has kept her current on procedural developments and local court practices, which can be vital when managing active cases in county courts.
Her practice history is straightforward: academic study at Macalester and Western State, early years in county public defense, contract service for the public defender, and ongoing private practice. The arc is one of sustained engagement in criminal defense work and courtroom representation. She is licensed to practice in California and has been active since the mid-1980s.
Today she operates from her own office under the name Erin O Toole-McNally, Lawyer at Law and continues to represent clients in California courts. Her current practice focuses on criminal defense work in California.
