Thomas R Phillips

Practice Areas

Appeals, legal issues, and alternative dispute resolution.

Career

Partner, Baker Botts LLP, 2005-present; Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Texas, 1988-2004; State District Judge, Harris County, 1981-88; Associate, Baker & Botts, Houston, 1975-81; Visiting Professor, South Texas College of Law< Houston, and SMU Dedman Law School, Dallas, 2004-05

Awards and Recognitions

Austin Bar Foundation Outstanding Lawyer Award, 2025; Lone Star Legal Aid Hall of Heroes, 2014;

Pro Texana Meritorious Achievement Award, Baylor University, 2013; Outstanding Mentor Award, Texas Young Lawyers, 2010; Justice Award, American Judicature Society, 2007; Baylor Alumni 150 (“150 of Baylor’s most remarkable alumni”), Baylor Alumni Association, 2007; Justinian Award, Dallas Lawyers Auxiliary, 2006

Harry L. Carrico Judicial Innovation Award, National Center for State Courts, 2005; Champion of Children Award, Dallas CASA, 2004; Harold F. ; Price Daniel Distinguished Public Service Award, Baylor University Alumni Association, 2004Kleinman Award, Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation, 2004; First Annual Professionalism in Law Award, Burton Awards for Legal Achievement, 2004; Rosewood Gavel Award, St. Mary’s School of Law, 2002; Distinguished Service Award, National Center for State Courts, 1999; Distinguished Alumnus, Baylor University Alumni Association, 1998; Appellate Judge of the Year, Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists, 1992-1993; Award of Excellence in Government, Texas Chamber of Commerce, 1992; Inaugural Member, Woodrow Wilson High School Hall of Fame, 1989; Outstanding Texas Leader Award, John Ben Shepperd Public Leadership Forum, 1989

Professional Memberships

Board Certified Civil Trial Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, 1981 to present; American Law Institute, Member, 1991 to present;; American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, Fellow, 2018 to present; Texas Commission on Judicial Selection, Member and Elections Working Group Chair, 2019-2021; Bipartisan Texas Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee, 2013 to present;

Institute of Judicial Administration, New York University Law School, Board of Directors, 2006 to present; Texas Appleseed, Board of Directors, 2015-2022; South Texas College of Law, Board of Directors, 2006-2011; CPR Texas Panel of Distinguished Neutrals; American Bar Association - Commission on the 21st Century Judiciary, 2002-2003; Judicial Selection and Judicial Campaign Committee, 2001-2003; Task Force on Lawyers’ Political Contributions, 1997-1998; Conference of Chief Justices, (Past President, 1998-99); The Center for American and International Law, Trustee, 1992-2014; Texas Judicial Districts Board, Texas Judicial Districts Board, Chair, 1988-2004; Member, 2019 to present

Publications

“When Courts are Attacked, Democracy is at Risk,” Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative Social Impact Review (2026)

“The Merits of Merit Selection,” 32 Harv. J. L. Pub. Pol. 67 (2009)

“Judicial Recusal in a Post-White World,” 55 Drake L. Rev. 691 (2007)

“The Constitutional Right to a Remedy,” 78 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 1309 (2003)

“State Supreme Courts: Local Courts in a Global World,” 38 Tex. Int'l L.J. 557 (2003)

Comment on Paul D. Carrington, “Judicial Independence and Democratic Accountability in Highest State Courts,” 61 Law and Contemp. Probs. 127 (1998)

Introduction to the W. Page Keeton Symposium on Tort Law, 75 Tex. L. Rev. 1491 (1997)

Justice Franklin S. Spears: Unsung Hero of Texas Justice, 28 St. Mary’s L.J. 341 (1997)

Foreword to the 75th Anniversary Issue, 75 Tex. L. Rev. 1 (1996)

Introduction to the Symposium: National Mass Tort Conference, 73 Tex. L. Rev. 1525 (1995)

Dedication to Justice Franklin S. Spears, 22 St. Mary’s L. J. 1 (1990)

Personal

BA, Baylor 1971; JD, Harvard, 1974, Honorary D.H.L., St. Edward’s University, 1998, Honorary LL.D., Texas Tech University, 1997; Baylor University Sesquicentennial Council of 150, 1993-1995.

Community Activities

The Philosophical Society of Texas, President, 2021-2022; Carter-Baker Commission on Federal Election Reform, Member, 2005; No Labels Texas Executive Committee, Member, 2023-2024; Mitt Romney Justice Advisory Committee, Member, 2011-12; John McCain Justice Advisory Committee, Member, 2008; Romney for President Advisory Committee on the Constitution and the Courts, Member, 2008; Texas Historical Commission, Member, 2005-2012; Texas State Historical Association, Director, 2014-2018; Secretary, 2018-2020; Bastrop County Historical Commission Member, 2025 to present; NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions, Public Member, 2005-2007 Bastrop County Historical Society, Board of Directors, 2004-2008