STACY D. PHILLIPS
BIOGRAPHY

Stacy D. Phillips, a Certified Family Law Specialist licensed by the State Bar of California's Board of Legal Specialization, is listed by Lawdragon as one of the 500 Leading Lawyers in America for 2006 and 2007.  In addition, The Los Angeles Daily Journal, Los Angeles' main legal trade publication, also named Phillips one of the "Top 75 Female Litigators in California" for 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008.  Phillips also received that honor in 2003 and 2004 when that publication honored the top 50 female attorneys.  The same publication once named Phillips one of the "Top 20 Attorneys under the Age of 40" in Southern California (1998). She also is listed among an elite group of attorneys by L.A. Magazine and Super Lawyers Magazine (for 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008), as a result of a survey conducted jointly by Law & Politics and Los Angeles Magazine. She was also singled out by them in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 as one of the Top 50 Female Super Lawyers" in Southern California, where she also placed among the top overall 100 vote-getters (men and women) for 2006, 2007 and 2008.  She also was featured in the Los Angeles Times' West Magazine as one of the Los Angeles area's Best Lawyers in November, 2006 and 2007.  Her distinctions from media also include those from the Los Angeles Business Journal where Phillips was named among the 81 The Best of the Bar attorneys in Los Angeles for 2007 and one of the  50 Most Powerful Women in Los Angeles Law in 1998. In addition to her honors by the aforementioned publications, Phillips is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America and has garnered a coveted AV rating in the Martindale-Hubbell Registry.

A founding partner of Phillips, Lerner, Lauzon & Jamra, LLP, Century City, Calif., Phillips has practiced family law exclusively since 1984 and has handled many high-profile clients including Bobby Brown (ex-husband of Whitney Houston), Corina Villaraigosa (soon-to-be ex-wife of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa), Darcy LaPier (ex-wife of Jean-Claude Van Damme and widow of Mark Hughes), Erin Everly (ex-wife of Axl Rose of Guns 'n Roses), Darryl Strawberry, Charlie Shanian (former husband of Tori Spelling), Deborah Shelton (former Miss USA), Toni Taupin (ex-wife of Bernie Taupin), and Jonathan Kaufer (former husband of Pia Zadora). Stacy Phillips has also represented the conservators with regards to Britney Spears' family law matters.

A graduate of Dartmouth College, cum laude, with high distinction honors in a double major, Phillips earned her juris doctorate at Columbia University School of Law in 1983.

In 1994 she assisted in drafting a bill to extend the statute of limitations period, allowing victims of domestic violence to sue their abusers in civil court.  Having testified in support of the legislation before the Assembly Judiciary Committee, Senate Bill 924 was subsequently enacted into California law (California Civil Procedure Section 340.15).

Stacy D. Phillips has been seen and heard on television and radio programs such as VH1's All Access More Celeb Break-Ups' and Celebrity Prenuptial Agreements,' Good Morning America, Court TV radio and television, ABC News' 20/20, Fox Network News, CNBC's High Net Worth, Hard Copy, CNN Money, E! Entertainment Television, TV Guide Channel, ABC San Francisco's View From The Bay, Judge for Yourself, Inside Edition, Celebrity Justice, National Public Radio's Tavis Smiley Show (discussing the Children's Bill of Rights) Star TV, MSNBC, and is a regular commentator on Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, and The Insider.  Not only is Stacy highly sought after in the United States, but she also appears internationally on programs such as the W Network and Movie Central (Canada Broadcasting), Cimema Tushin and Asahi TV (Japanese Broadcasting), Interaktiv (Hungary Broadcasting) and the BBC (UK Broadcasting).  She did both a television and radio satellite tour speaking on issues couples should address prior to taking their marriage vows, on news segments for major stations throughout the country. She has been quoted in numerous publications such as the Wall Street Journal, People, In Touch, Cosmopolitan, Life & Style, Us Weekly, Glamour, Town & Country, Los Angeles Business Journal, California Law Business, New York Post, Entertainment Weekly, Chicago Tribune, GQ Magazine, The Arizona Republic, OK magazine, Los Angeles Family magazine, Sacramento Bee, Working Woman, Redbook, and CBS Market Watch. She also has been featured on various wire services, such as Associated Press, Radio, Television and Internet Report, Wireless News Flash and Newhouse News Service.  She also has appeared in a number of stories on major web sites including, TMZ.com, Yahoo!, MSN.com, HalogenGuides.com, Hitched.com, Divorce360.com, Court TV.com, womenswallstreet.com and AOL. She was featured on in-flight radio programming segments for American Airlines in July 2005 and on United Airlines in November and December 2005. She has served as a regular columnist for Yahoo! Personals, Hitched.com, Divorce Magazine, California Family Law Monthly, and serves as managing editor for her firm's bi-annual newsletter, Family Matters.

An author herself, Phillips' first literary work, Divorce: It's All About Control How to Win the Emotional, Psychological and Legal Wars, was released in November, 2005. In 2006, her book received a certificate of commendation from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Councilman Jack Weiss and the city of Los Angeles.  Her book continues to do well in most major bookstores as well as on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. She has also editedfor legal content and correctnessthe best-selling book Money Smart Divorce by Esther Berger and wrote the foreword for The Smart Divorce by Deborah Moskovitch. She also has been asked on several occasions to provide critical reviews for books, primarily those written on business, divorce and family law. 

She is the recipient of Jewish Women International's Women to Watch award for 2005, AMIT's "Women of Accomplishment" for 2005, the Century City Chamber of Commerce's 2002 "Women of Achievement Award"; the Los Angeles Business Journal's 2001 "Women Who Make a Difference Award; the Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America's 2001 "Patricia McClure Award"; Bnai Zion's "Women of Achievement Award for 2001" and the Israel Cancer Research Fund's 2000 "Women of Action Award," the latter of which provides the single largest source of private funds for cancer research in Israel.

Phillips is a member of the Chancery Club of Los Angeles, member of the National Partnership of Women & Families (formerly known as the Women's Legal Defense Fund), member of the Board of Trustees of Alternative Living for the Aging, past chair and member of the Board of Directors of ALA, former member of the Board of Directors for Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services, and now a member of the Board of Governors, member of the Board of Directors of Legal Momentum (formerly NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund), former co-chair of the California Leadership Council of Legal Momentum and has established the Stacy D. Phillips Endowment Scholarship Fund at The Mirman School. In addition, she has also been a member of the steering committee of various individual political campaigns. 

Phillips' personal, philanthropic and political involvements have also included the Cedars-Sinai Sports Spectacular Steering Committee, the Cedars-Sinai Sports Spectacular Women's Luncheon Committee and the Women's Leadership Forum of the Democratic National Committee. She also has acted as a pro bono volunteer representing abused and neglected children.  In addition, she, along with others in her firm, founded the "Adopt-a-Center" program, where for the past ten years the firm has selected one charity to which they offer hands-on involvement and fundraising support for a 12-month period.

Phillips has lectured to numerous professional groups, bar associations and law firms on the interplay between family law and probate. She has also lectured at UCLA, Loyola Law School, Southwestern Law School, Pepperdine University, Western University School of Law, Dartmouth College, and for programs sponsored by the Women Lawyers Association on mentor/mentee relationships and alternatives to big firm practice.  Phillips also was invited to speak at the California Women Lawyers 1998, 1999 and 2000 conferences entitled, Business Development for Women Lawyers. At the FindLaw Business Development Conference in 2004, Successful Marketing Techniques for Profitablility and Results, Phillips spoke on two panels: Why These Firms Are Best In Breed,  (her firm named among them) and also, along with co-panelist and Fox News' Robert Massi, she discussed Practice Area Marketing: Learn From the Masters. In 2005, she chaired the Successful Marketing conference for FindLaw and moderated its Best of Breed panel. She also spoke at a breakout session on the subject of family law. In addition, Phillips served as a panelist on mediation and custody issues for the Los Angeles Bar Association on the topic of "Effective Representation of Family Law Clients in Mediation" and was a panelist for both the California Continuing Education (CEB) organization, focusing on issues of child and spousal support, and the Rutter Group for a course they provided regarding a basic overview of family law.  In addition, she also was the 2005 chairperson and a panelist for the Seminar Group's Relationship Agreements where she spoke on cohabitation, the new domestic partnership laws and alternative dispute resolution. She also served on a panel sponsored by City National Bank and Trust's "Divorce Hollywood Style: Avoiding Common Pitfalls" and spoke on various current issues on that topic. In July 2006, Phillips co-chaired a conference for West Legal Works called Your Future as a Rainmaker:  A Marketing Boot Camp for Lawyers.  Phillips also speaks on a regular basis to a variety of women's groups. 

As a result of her experience as a speaker, Phillips is a much sought after source for commentary on family law, mediation, ethics and business. A few years ago, Phillips organized a panel at her alma mater, Dartmouth College, to discuss Ethics in the Media; the panel included a high profile lawyer, judge, and newspaper editor, and the late Johnnie Cochran who served as chairman.  Phillips is also heavily involved in the Ethics Institute at Dartmouth, and the Phillips Family Fund which her family started 30+ years ago.  The Fund gives an award each year to the student at the College who writes the best paper on ethics, and a similar award to the student at the Dartmouth Amos Tuck School of Business who writes the best paper on ethics in business.  The Fund has provided the monies necessary to teach Ethics Across the Curriculum.  The Institute is working on a Phillips Family-funded conference for next Spring.  Its theme will be Conflict. Mediation and Reconciliation. 

Phillips' legal career began as a federal law clerk to the Honorable Edward Rafeedie of the United States District Court.  Phillips then joined Wyman, Bautzer, Rothman, Kuchel and Silbert (hereinafter, Wyman) as an associate, where her primary focus was the litigation and mediation of family law matters.  In 1984, Phillips left Wyman to join Jaffe & Clemens, and in 1990, began her own firm.

Phillips is a member of the State Bar of California, the American Bar Association, the Los Angeles Bar Association and the Beverly Hills Bar Association.  She is admitted to practice in all of California's State Courts and before the Southern District of the California U.S. District Court.

Stacy D. Phillips, who resides in Los Angeles, is married with two children of her own, two step-children and two step-grandchildren.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
Divorce and Marriage Dissolution
California Community Property
Domestic Violence and Restraining Orders

* photo by: Sharon Holly Photograpy/www.sharonholly.com