Neal Davis III

Of Counsel

Neal Davis III has never backed down from a fight—and he’s never entered one unprepared. His relentless work ethic, strategic mindset, and bulldog determination have made him one of Houston’s rising stars in criminal defense.

With more than thirty years of experience in the criminal justice system, Neal brings a rare combination of street-level insight and courtroom sophistication. Before becoming a lawyer, he served as a police officer with the Houston Police Department, investigating everything from petty theft to capital murder. His affinity for languages later took him overseas to the oil fields of Russia and Africa, where he worked in drilling operations and technical service engineering.

Neal has tried more than eighty cases, including capital murder, murder, sexual assaults, DWIs, federal drug offenses, federal hate-crime prosecutions, and federal white-collar matters. He has written and argued appeals before Texas’s state appellate courts and the federal circuit courts, and he successfully petitioned the United States Supreme Court for certiorari—a rare accomplishment for any attorney. Neal is licensed in the Southern, Western, and Eastern Districts of Texas, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is board-certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and is an active member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Texas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Bar of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association.

A Houston resident for more than forty years, Neal graduated from Katy High School, where he played football and baseball and boxed in local gyms. He enlisted in the United States Navy and served honorably in the Mediterranean during the conflict with Libya and the Iran–Iraq War. After returning home, he studied Russian Studies and Economics at the University of Houston before joining HPD. His work abroad later led him into the oilfield industry, where he continued to excel.

Neal earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston–Downtown, then attended South Texas College of Law at night—while working full time and raising his children as a single father. He is now married and the proud father of five.

Neal is widely recognized for his roles in several high-profile cases, including his assistance in the Andrea Yates proceedings, his work as lead counsel in the Galveston County “Baby Grace” case, and his defense in the capital murder prosecution of Ronald Haskell.