Attorney Neil Brunetz is all relaxed smiles and genial platitudes. As he leans back in his chair at the table in one of the many conference rooms at Miller & Martin, he talks warmly about his practice and his time with the firm. Given his unassuming manner, it’s unlikely there’s any part of him that’s hiding even a hint of unhappiness with his life or career.
He’s certainly not unhappy about working at Miller & Martin. He came to the firm in the mid-2000s, and has since developed an active litigation practice. Unlike many of his colleagues, he doesn’t concentrate on one area of the law, but rather serves as a “general problem solver.” One day, he’ll provide advocacy for a plaintiff, and the next, he’ll go to bat for a defendant.
“I don’t look at one matter a day; I look at 20,” he says.
If Brunetz is exaggerating, it’s not by much. He might spend his morning helping a client find important information, then during the midday stretch, works on an injury case involving hundreds of thousands of dollars, and before he winds up his day, handle a dog bite case in City Court.
“The breadth of what we cover is tremendous. I laugh because I’m one of the few lawyers in Chattanooga who’s tried a couple of dig bite cases,” he says.
For Brunetz, an abnormal day is the norm. “You can end up anywhere in this town, which is great fun, given the courts and the judges we have,” he says.
If Brunetz were tied to one area of the law, he might not be as happy. But being on the move is not the only thing he likes about his practice; he also likes how it allows him to meet a variety of people.
“I like people,” he says, casually tossing a platitude across the table but sounding sincere. “And day in and day out, I get to deal with people from every walk of life, and with every kind of personality.”
While the practice of law provides Brunetz with plenty of chances to interact with others, it also places demands on his abilities as an advocate. Not only is he more than up to the task, he wouldn’t have it any other way. “My favorite part of trial work is being in a courtroom and working through the issues of a case,” he says.
Brunetz is just as laid back in a courtroom as he is outside of one. He says this works to his advantage.
“In a courtroom, you’re trying to get people to agree with you, especially the jury, so my approach is collegial, not aggressive,” he says.
Brunetz is also a believer in simplicity in the courtroom. “You can develop what you need a lot of different ways, but when you present it – and especially when you present it to a judge or a jury – the simpler it is, the easier it is to understand and deal with,” he says.
Even though Brunetz has handled a vast assortment of cases, a few stand out in his mind, including a handful involving wrongful deaths. “You remember those because there are families involved, and there are a lot of emotions, and you grow fairly close to the people throughout the process,” he says.
Brunetz actually sees relationships as being one of the perks of his job. And he wastes no opportunity to develop them, no matter how small the matter.
“I’ve dealt with certain clients as long as I’ve been here, and I do a lot of everyday, repetitive work for them. I have those same emotional ties with those clients,” he says.
A lawyer in the making
Although mom and dad tell Brunetz he’s always wanted to be a lawyer, he has no memories of aspiring as a child to someday walk the halls of justice. Even in college, the Memphis-raised Brunetz majored in international relations and played soccer without giving the law a thought.
“I played soccer and, secondarily, got a great education,” he says.
His school, Rhodes, had a solid reputation for post-graduate placement, so once Brunetz had a taste of what it was like to work in retail, he decided to attend law school. Even as a student, Brunetz preferred a general approach, and avoided studying a specific area of the law.
“Someone told me to take the courses that would help me to pass the bar exam, because once you get out and actually start practicing law, it’s completely different than law school,” he says.
In 2001, Brunetz graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, moved to Chattanooga and set up shop at Spears, Moore, Rebman & Williams. They sent him to court on day one.
“A mentor called Hale Hamilton threw me into trial work, whether it was Sessions Court, State Court – whatever. And we had a fellow named Scott Brown who let me do trial work in bankruptcy court. That day-to-day interaction with experienced lawyers was a great benefit,” he says.
“Four or five years later,” Brunetz moved to Miller & Martin.
Family, community man
Although Brunetz has a full plate at work, he’s also active outside the firm. Professionally, he’s a member of the board of the Chattanooga Bar Association; in his community, he’s on the board of the Chattanooga Football Club, which is launching a youth soccer academy. He’s also planning to accompany the Rhodes soccer team to Germany and Austria in August as an assistant coach. At home, his wife and two kids – a boy and a girl, who are 8 and 4, respectively – keep him busy.
When Brunetz isn’t at work, home, or on the soccer field, he’s likely playing golf.
But even when Brunetz is at work, he’s enjoying life and making the most of it.
“The day I stop having fun at work is the day I’ll go do something else. The fun of it for me is the people. I don’t want to sit at a desk all day looking at a computer. I’d rather be out talking with someone.”