Frank X. Neuner, Jr. is the founding partner of NeunerPate, a regional corporate defense firm with its main office in Lafayette, Louisiana. As of September 1st, Neuner became the National Fellows Chair. He served as president of the Louisiana State Bar Association during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and in 2013, spoke at The World Justice Forum in the Hague on restoring legal systems after natural disasters. He has held many leadership roles, including Chair of the Louisiana Public Defender Board and the Legal Services Corporation’s Audit Committee. A 1976 graduate of LSU Law, Neuner has received multiple honors, including the LSU Law Distinguished Alumnus and the ABA Solo and Small Firm Lifetime Achievement Award. He has chaired several ABA committees and continues to serve in prominent positions in both state and national legal communities.
Q: What does being an ABF Fellow mean to you?
The ability to support important and critical research while establishing relationships with new colleagues.
Q: Where do you consider your hometown and what is your favorite thing about it?
Lafayette, Louisiana. The people, the culture, the cuisine, the music and arts scene. In other words, everything.
Q: Why did you decide to pursue a career in law?
I am a first-generation college graduate and a first-generation lawyer. I wanted to be a hospital administrator, but the tuition for a master’s in hospital administration was $3,000 a year. Law School tuition was $510 a year so I decided to go to law school.
Q: If you hadn’t pursued a career in law, what would you have done?
Take my grandsons fishing as often as possible.
Q: Who is your professional hero?
Joe Burrow. He plays hard and gives back to his community. My lawyer hero is John Levi, the longest-serving Chair of the Legal Service Corporation Board.
Q: What has been your favorite Fellows event?
A: The Fellows Awards Banquet Dinner held in New Orleans with Innocence Project New Orleans Exoneree Robert Jones as the keynote speaker.