JOSEPH R. NEAL, JR. was born and raised in Augusta, Georgia.
Joseph is the proud father of two wonderful children, Joseph and Olivia. After graduating with Honors from Richmond Academy, he went on to study Accounting at the University of Georgia where he earned his place on the Dean's list and graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree.
During college, Joe worked part-time as a legal assistant for Jim Hudson, an accomplished and legendary Athens trial lawyer. After graduating from UGA, Joe went on to study law at the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University. Joe's continued academic excellence again earned him a place on the Dean's List and in May 1993, he graduated with a Juris Doctorate degree.
Joseph R. Neal, Jr. returned to his family and hometown of Augusta, Georgia to practice law and was appointed Assistant District Attorney for the Augusta Judicial Circuit by District Attorney Daniel J. Craig. From 1993-1996, Joe Neal, Jr. developed and honed his trial skills as a state prosecutor by prosecuting nearly one thousand felony cases and trying nearly one hundred jury trials. Joe's vigorous and passionate pursuit of justice for victims and the people of Augusta and the State of Georgia was marked by great success in the courtroom.
At the conclusion of his service as Assistant District Attorney in April 1996, Joe went into the private practice of law in Augusta, Georgia with his father Joseph R. Neal and law partner Michael W. Skeen. His trial practice emphasis was on criminal defense, personal injury, wrongful death, and medical malpractice cases. From 1996-2000, Joe Neal, Jr. successfully prosecuted a civil rape case against Tommy Davidson, former "In Living Color" star, comic and Hollywood actor, car wreck cases, tractor-trailer cases, product defect cases, wrongful death cases, and medical malpractice cases. He also successfully defended several high profile criminal cases, including a murder conviction which he briefed, orally argued, and reversed unanimously on appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court, and which thereafter he tried before a jury and obtained an acquittal of his client on all counts in Lindsey v. State of
Georgia
, 271
Ga.
657 (1999).
In July 2000, Joseph R. Neal, Jr. was selected, attended, and graduated from Gerry Spence's three week Trial Lawyers College, at Thunderhead Ranch in Dubois, Wyoming. At TLC, Joe enhanced his trial skills by learning the psychodramatic techniques and methods of Gerry Spence, recognized by many as the greatest trial lawyer in America. Joe returned to Spence's Wyoming ranch in August 2001 and completed the one week graduate course of the Trial Lawyers College. The Spence experience was critical to Joe's gaining a deeper understanding of the human drama and ultimate truth in every case. Joe returned to Augusta from Wyoming a Warrior For Justice, having re-dedicated and re-committed his career to seeking truth and justice for his clients.
In 2000, Joseph R. Neal, Jr. started his own law firm, the law offices of Joseph R. Neal, Jr., P.C., at 410 Telfair St. in Augusta, Georgia where he specializes in the litigation and trial of serious personal injury, wrongful death, defective products, and medical malpractice cases.
Joseph R. Neal, Jr. participates, writes, and speaks in local, state, regional, and national trial lawyer association seminars and publications. He is a member of the Augusta Bar Association, the State Bar of Georgia, the American Association for Justice, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, and the Southern Trial lawyers Association. Joe is currently licensed, a member in good standing, and admitted to practice law in all state trial courts of the State of Georgia, the Court of Appeals of Georgia, the Supreme Court of Georgia, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, the 4th Circuit U. S. Court of Appeals, and the 11th Circuit U. S. Court of Appeals. Additionally, Joe has been admitted Pro Hac Vice by the Aiken County Court of Common Pleas and the U. S. District Court of South Carolina for the Aiken and Anderson Divisions in wrongful death and serious personal injury cases and trials, most notably obtaining a $3,000,000 jury verdict for a permanently injured client in the U. S. District Court in South Carolina’s Anderson Division on January 25, 2007.