Neil Gilbert Galatz

Neil Gilbert Galatz was one of Nevada's most accomplished trial attorneys, a nationally recognized personal injury lawyer whose career in Las Vegas spanned more than five decades. Born in New York City on January 22, 1933, he earned a Bachelor of Arts from Adelphi College in New York in 1953 and a Juris Doctor from Columbia University in 1956. He came to Las Vegas in 1957 and began his legal career in public service, being appointed one of the county's deputy district attorneys in 1959.

In private practice, Galatz specialized in personal injury, medical and legal malpractice, and product liability, and he became known for successfully litigating some of the highest-profile cases in Nevada history. He served as co-chairman of the Plaintiff's Lead Counsel Committee in the multi-district litigation arising from the 1980 MGM Grand fire, which resulted in a $138 million settlement, and he played a leading role in the litigation following the 1981 Las Vegas Hilton fire. He also chaired the Plaintiff's Committee in the litigation stemming from the 1988 PEPCON explosion, which produced a $71 million settlement.

Galatz remained active in the law throughout his life, later serving as of counsel with the firm Gordon Silver and continuing to work in the days before his death. He died in Las Vegas on January 3, 2013, at the age of 79, remembered as a courtroom dynamo and a leader of the Nevada bar.