2016 Hall of Fame Inductee John G. McNeill Class of 1982

John G. McNeill is an equity partner in the law firm of Landrum & Shouse, LLP. He was born and raised in inner-city North Philadelphia. Upon high school graduation, he followed the immortal words of Horace Greeley and went west to the University of Wyoming, graduating in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science with honors in Political Science. He then went to UK College of Law, obtaining his Juris Doctor in 1982. He was a recipient of the W.L. Matthews Scholarship.

John was hired after law school as the first African-American lawyer in the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government Department of Law. In 1985, he joined Landrum, Shouse and Patterson (now Landrum & Shouse LLP) as the first African- American associate in any majority law firm in Lexington. His active civil trial practice, with concentrations that include insurance defense and education law, has taken him literally to every county in Eastern and South Central Kentucky. He has argued before the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Kentucky Court of Appeals and the Kentucky Supreme Court.

John is a member of the original Henry Clay Chapter of the American Inns of Court and the revitalized Central Kentucky Inns of Court. He served as an adjunct professor at UK Law in Litigation Skills from 1990 to 2002 and still pinch hits for his partner, Pierce Hamblin, who has taught for more than 35 years. John serves on the UK Law Visiting Committee and serves on the Board for Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company.

His public service includes serving on the Governor’s Task Force on Sexual Assaults, the LFUCG Green Space Commission, and, closest to his heart, the Board of Visitors for the University of Wyoming. In 2014, UK honored him with the Torch of Excellence Award at the 24th Annual Lyman T. Johnson Celebration. He is married to his lovely wife, Jeannetta Burbridge-McNeill.