Q & A with Neal D. Moore III
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Q&A
Q & A with Neal D. Moore III
A partner with Christian & Small, LLP in Birmingham, Ala., Neal D. Moore III has spent his career defending and trying cases involving personal injury and death. He specializes in complex product liability matters, working closely with professionals in industrial and commercial enterprises to defend claims of allegedly defective devices and equipment.
A graduate of the University of Georgia, Moore has defended hotels and restaurants from Mobile to Huntsville involved in personal injury and food poisoning cases. His work as a young lawyer on automobile liability matters led to his current work (as a not-so-young lawyer) on behalf of commercial carriers. In addition to his personal injury work, Moore specializes in the financial regulations governing lenders and debt collectors. A popular speaker, Moore has written and lectured on a variety of topics, including legal ethics and training for young lawyers. He was honored to serve on the Board of Directors for the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association and as a repeat instructor at the Young Lawyers Deposition Boot Camp. In 2012, Moore was awarded the designation of Certified Litigation Management Professional from the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance and has completed Alabama’s required instruction for civil mediation from Alabama Mediation Training.
A graduate of Cumberland School of Law, Samford University, Moore and his wife, Kelley, have two children that are a constant source of pride.
Q: Before becoming an attorney, what was your first job?
A: Busboy at Snelling Dining Hall, University of Georgia
Q: What motivated you to pursue a legal career?
A: I could argue with people with reasonable confidence that the rules of the profession would prevent them from physically assaulting me.
Q: Who was your chief mentor and how did he or she influence your career?
A: Dudley Motlow. He gave me the freedom to mess up, stood by me when it happened, and let me find my own voice as an advocate.
Neal Moore and his wife, Kelley, struck a patriotic pose while at the International Defense Counsel Conference in Austin.
Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
A: Work hard, play hard.
Q: What is one thing you would like to learn to do?
A: Win an argument with my wife
Q: What is your proudest career achievement?
A: That younger lawyers I mentored still want to have personal relationships with me even when we no longer work together.
Q: What other career path might you have chosen?
A: Actor, but I did not think I had the looks. However, my daughter said I was wrong. “There are plenty of unattractive actors out there, Dad.”
Father and son share a smile at the 2022 Cannibal Corpse concert in Birmingham, Ala., where the heavy metal band from New York was featured.
Q: What do you do to give back to your community?
A: Raise my kids to be honest and kind.
Q: What is your most treasured material possession?
A: The plate my daughter painted for me of the two of us holding hands, which she gifted to me at Christmas.
Neal D. Moore III
Q: What is your happiest childhood memory?
A: Winning a men’s doubles tennis tournament with my dad.
Q: What is your favorite movie and book?
A: Movie: It’s always changing. Let’s go with “Serenity.”
Book: Also, a moving target. How about “Disappearance at Devil’s Rock.”
The Moores – Neal, Ava Grace, Kelley, and Nye – during a holiday vacation to Hilton Head, the beautiful resort community in South Carolina.
Q: What is the most awe-inspiring place you have visited?
A: Bigfoot Museum, Blue Ridge, Ga.
Q: What are your favorite leisure time pursuits?
A: Smoke cigars and listen to heavy metal.
In App State attire, Ava Grace made friends with Bigfoot while visiting the Sasquatch Museum in Blue Ridge, Ga.
Q: What is your favorite famous or inspirational quote?
A: “How can I be so bad at everything I try, and still be so great?” ~Bender
Q: Who is on your guest list for the ideal dinner party?
A: Andrew Jackson, Paul Stanley, Kirby Smart, my mom, and my wife.
Q: What are the top three items on your bucket list?
A: Go to Wacken Open Air. See Manowar (perhaps at Wacken Open Air?). The Masters.