Gerald J. Phillips

Gerald J. Phillips was born in Westwood Massachusetts in 1940. Mr. Phillips has been an Orange County resident since his arrival in this community in 1966 to serve as a Judge Advocate at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station at El Toro, California. Mr. Phillips is married and has three grown children.

Mr. Phillips graduated from Boston College (B.A., 1962) and from Boston University Law School (J.D., 1965). He was admitted to the practice of law in Massachusetts in 1965 and was admitted to the U.S. Court of Military Appeals in 1966. He served as a Judge Advocate for the U.S. Marine Corps from 1966 to 1968, a Military Judge during his time on active duty, and a Reservist from 1969 to 1987. After many years in the USMC Reserve, he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1987. An original founder of the November 10th Association, Mr. Phillips continues his activity with the Marine Corps as a retired officer. He was admitted to the California State Bar in 1968, and has thereafter practiced law in Orange County.

Mr. Phillips was among the lawyers who were the original California Certified Specialists in Family Law, and at the time of his admission as a specialist in 1980, he was one of three such specialists in Orange County who enjoyed an AV Rating with Martindale Hubbell. Mr. Phillips has enjoyed that status since his early recognition, and has been named by Los Angeles Magazine as one of the 50 top lawyers in Orange County. He has been continuously recognized as one of Orange County’s Super Lawyers by Los Angeles Magazine for as long as the magazine has been published (2002-present).

Mr. Phillips has been a member of the prestigious Robert Banyard Inn of Court since its inception in 1987, and remains a Master of the Bench in this organization. He is one of four surviving members of this original group of Orange County’s finest lawyers.

He has been an active member of the Orange County Bar Association since 1968 and was elected Chairman of the Family Law Section in 1984, was a member of the Executive Committee from 1982 to 1987. He served on the Board of Directors of the Orange County Bar Association from 1985 to 1987. Mr. Phillips is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association and the State Bar of California. Since 1975, he has served the Orange County Superior Court as a Judge Pro Tem and also serves as a private judge on stipulation of the parties to a marital dispute.

He has lectured with the State of California’s Continuing Education of the Bar in subjects that include “Negotiating Marital Agreements,” and “Joint Ownership of Marital and Non-Marital Property.”

Mr. Phillips has represented an assortment of professional athletes from MLB, NBA, and the NFL, some of whom have achieved Hall of Fame status. He has represented CEOs of publicly traded companies, corporate executives, real estate developers, businessmen, judges, and professionals in marital disputes in Orange County and surrounding communities. He has represented various music and entertainment celebrities or their spouses in their marital disputes in this community.

In 2011, Mr. Phillips was the recipient of the Orange County Bar Association’s Charles Garrity Award, which is given to the County’s “quintessential family lawyer” for “excellence and professionalism” in the practice of family law. This award has been made only a handful of times since its inception in 1995.

In 2014, Mr. Phillips was named by U.S. News and World Report, Best Lawyers, as Family Law Attorney of the Year.