On November 16, a sold-out audience of 240 guests were on hand in downtown L.A for the inaugural Women of Achievement Award presented by the LACBA President’s Advisory Committee on Women in the Legal Profession.

LACBA member Patricia D. Phillips was presented with the first Elizabeth L. Kenney Women Lawyers of Achievement Award, a recognition for her outstanding career and for paving the way other women in the legal profession. Read Phillips' bio below.

Phillips is pictured with her daughter, Judge Samantha Jessner, Presiding Judge-Elect of the LA Superior Court. 

More about the Elizabeth L. Kenney Women Lawyers of Achievement Award. 

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Patricia D. Phillips Short Bio

A graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara (B.A. 1956) and the Loyola School of Law, Loyola Marymount University (J.D. 1967), Patricia D. Phillips is a native of the City of Los Angeles. Now a partner at Phillips Jessner in Los Angeles, Phillips specializes in family law and civil litigation. She serves frequently as a mediator and arbitrator for business, employment, and family matters.

Ms. Phillips is a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. In the practice of family law, Ms. Phillips handles issues relating to the dissolution of marriage and is well known in the legal community for her work in bringing concepts of alternative dispute resolution to litigation. She also handles business, employment, trust, and probate mediation.

Phillips was the first woman to be elected President of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and she is the recipient of the association’s annual Shattuck Price “Outstanding Lawyer” Award. She has been honored by both her undergraduate and law school alma maters as an outstanding alumna. And the  Women Lawyers' Association of Los Angeles and California Women Lawyers presented Phillips with their Ernestine Stahlhut and Dragon Slayer Awards, respectively.

She served for three years on the Judicial Council of the State of California and was a member and former Chair of the Los Angeles County Commission on Judicial Procedures. She served as a vice president and member of the Board of Governors of the State Bar where she organized the Statewide Committee on Professionalism and Public Action. In addition, she was chair of the State Bar Committee of Bar Examiners and the Commission on the Future of the Legal Profession and the State Bar.

Phillips recently completed a term as President of the Chancery Club, the first woman to occupy any officer position in that organization. In April 1998, she received the ACLU Pro Bono Advocacy Award and has been honored as being one of Los Angeles' 50 most powerful women lawyers.

Phillips is a member of various Boards including the Board of Visitors at Loyola Law School and the Board of Maternal and Child Health Access. She is a former Chair of the Board of Directors of the City Club at Bunker Hill. Phillips is a frequent lecturer and writer on family law issues, methods of dispute resolution, and professionalism. The Los Angeles Daily Journal recently profiled Ms. Phillips, describing her as a mentor to the legal profession in Los Angeles.