NLJ Names Partner Fran Phillips an 'Energy & Environmental Trailblazer'

On April 27, Gardere Partner Frances E. Phillips was featured in the National Law Journal's inaugural list of "Energy & Environmental Trailblazers." For this honor, the NLJ accepted nominations and compiled 50 profiles of energy and environmental attorneys across the country who have "moved the needle in the legal arena" and are "impacting the crucial intersection between energy production and the environment."

Ms. Phillips was one of only a few women in her law school graduating class, and she began her legal career at the Environmental Protection Agency. "I needed work, and I wanted to save the world," she said. Joining the EPA in its infancy, Ms. Phillips litigated as a pioneer to close down the last open-hearth furnace in Alabama and license the first PCB incinerator. She even got an air force base to "realize environmental compliance was a part of its mission."

Today, Ms. Phillips, who serves as chair of Gardere's Environmental Practice Group, focuses her practice mostly on "big business." She represents clients in all areas of environmental law and policy including: business transactions' risk transfer; air, water, stormwater and hazardous waste permitting and compliance; munitions remediation; NEPA compliance; and administrative, civil and criminal enforcement matters.

The NLJ's complete feature on Ms. Phillips can be found here.