The American Bar Association Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division will honor Frank X. Neuner with its 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes the efforts and accomplishments of outstanding solo and small firm practitioners as well as bar leaders and associations. The award will be presented at the Solo and Small Firm Awards Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Friday, April 27, in the Waterbury Ballroom at the Sheraton New Orleans during the 2018 Joint Spring Meeting.
This award recognizes exceptional lifetime achievement by a solo or small firm practitioner who is widely accepted by his or her peers as having consistently achieved distinction in an exemplary way. The recipients are viewed by other solo and small firm practitioners as epitomizing the ideals of the legal profession and of solo and small firm practitioners.
Frank X. Neuner Jr. is a founder and managing partner of NeunerPate, a corporate defense firm in Lafayette, La. As immediate past chair of One Acadiana, Neuner led the charge to grow the Acadiana region’s business climate. He served as chairman of the board of Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center, president of United Way of Acadiana, the Lafayette Bar Association and the Lafayette Bar Foundation. NeunerPate has developed a culture of community service by providing pro bono legal services and was recently awarded the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Pro Bono Publico Award.
As president of the Louisiana Client Assistance Foundation since 2001, Neuner oversees reimbursement of funds to clients who lose money due to lawyer misconduct. To date, almost $2.5 million has been paid to claimants. He served as president of the Louisiana State Bar Association during hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In 2013, Neuner was invited to present at The World Justice Forum in The Hague, Netherlands, and share his experiences in restoring the legal system after natural disasters. During his six-year tenure as chair of the Louisiana Public Defender Board, he spearheaded the drive for legislation to provide legalprotection and access to the law for the indigent.
Neuner received a Juris Doctor in 1976 from Louisiana State University Law School. He is a member of Louisiana, Texas and American Bar Associations; the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel; the Defense Research Institute; the Maritime Law Association of the United States and the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel. He is a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers and of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and serves as the ABA State Delegate for Louisiana.
