Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Kurt Oneto

71. Kurt Oneto

Direct democracy looms over everything that happens in Sacramento and Kurt Oneto, the leader of Nielsen Merksamer’s government law section, knows that world like the back of his hand. A recognized expert in initiative and referenda law, Oneto specializes in statewide ballot measures, having served as counsel and legal strategist to more than 60 ballot measures in California and more than a half dozen in other states. He primarily works for measures backed by business interests, but not always. One decidedly pro-business case on his docket this year has been the long battle over Prop. 22, the voter-approved ballot measure that allows gig companies like Uber and Lyft classify their drivers as independent contractors. Oneto argued the case for the gig companies before the California Supreme Court and won; the ruling could set a national precedent for how all gig workers are classified by employers.

Updated Aug. 7, 2024