Herschel E. Richard, Jr.

Herschel Richard is a member of Cook, Yancey, King & Galloway. His practice principally involves business litigation, eminent domain, toxic tort, products liability, and legal and medical malpractice. He received his undergraduate degree from Tulane University and his law degree from Louisiana State University, where he was a member of the Louisiana Law Review. Richard was admitted to practice in 1970. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Society of Barristers, and the Louisiana Bar Foundation. He is a member and past President of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel, and is a Master Bencher in the Harry V. Booth and Judge Henry A. Politz American Inn of Court. Richard holds memberships in the International Association of Defense Counsel, the Federation of Insurance and Corporate Counsel, and the Maritime Law Association of the United States. He is also a Member of Council of the Louisiana State Law Institute. Richard was the 2000 recipient of the LBF Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award. He served as the LBF President from 2010-11.

Allen L. Smith, Jr. (Posthumously)

Allen L. Smith graduated from LSU School of Engineering and received his J.D. from LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center. He joined the Firm of Plauche' and Plauche' in 1964, became partner in 1967. Upon his retirement from partnership, he became General Counsel for the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury.

Smith served as President of Southwest Louisiana Bar Association; President of Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel. He was the recipient of the Louisiana State Bar Association President's Award; LBF Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award; and the Judge Albert Tate American Inns of Court Professionalism Award. He was inducted to LSU Law Center Hall of Fame in 1987.

Francis X. Neuner, Jr.

Francis X. "Frank" Neuner, Jr. is a founder and the managing partner of NeunerPate, a corporate defense firm based in Lafayette. He received a Juris Doctor in 1976 from Louisiana State University and in 2008, was named the LSU Law School?s Distinguished Alumnus. He has served as President of the Louisiana State Bar Association, Chair of the Louisiana Public Defender Board and President of the Louisiana Client Assistance Foundation. 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 also a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers and serves as the ABA State Delegate for Louisiana. He has been married to Tracy Owens Neuner for forty two years. They have four children and four grandchildren.

Michael H. Rubin

One of the managers of the multi-state firm of McGlinchey Stafford and a senior attorney in the firm's Baton Rouge office, Michael H. Rubin has an active commercial litigation, appellate and finance practice. He has served as an adjunct law professor for more than 30 years and is a nationally-known speaker, having given more than 375 presentations on topics such as legal ethics, appellate advocacy, real estate, finance and trial tactics throughout the United States, as well as in Canada and England. He is the author of over 30 articles in law reviews and periodicals, and is the author, co-author, and contributing author of thirteen books. Rubin's publications have been cited as authoritative by federal and state courts, and he has been recognized nationally for his legal writing, having received both the Burton Award for Outstanding Legal Writing at the Library of Congress and the highest award given by the Atlanta-based Foundation for the Improvement of Justice for clarifying and simplifying the law. Rubin has served as President of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, the Louisiana State Bar Association, the Southern Conference of Bar Presidents (covering 17 state bar associations), the Bar Association of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Baton Rouge Bar Association. He has been elected to a number of national and international invitation-only legal groups, including the American Law Institute, the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, and the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers, as well as being one of only 50 U.S. attorneys elected to the international Anglo-American Real Property Institute and representing Louisiana on the national Uniform Law Commission. Rubin has been a LBF Fellow since 1987.

Rubin received his law degree from Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center and his Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Amherst College. He met his wife, Ayan, when they were 18 years old. They have been inseparable ever since and are the proud parents of two daughters and the proud grandparents of three little girls, aged 2-4.