Richard Myron Phillips

Richard Myron Phillips September 8, 1931 – September 12, 2017 Richard Myron Phillips was born in New York, New York on September 8, 1931 to Morris and Henrietta (Shatz). He graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in 1953 and from Yale Law School in 1956. Mr. Phillips served as an officer in the United States Navy from 1957-1960 and was one of the first law school graduates to be selected for the Navy’s newly established JAG Corps for Navy attorneys. He was stationed after his training at the Navy legal office in Seattle, Washington, where his first child, Laurie was born. At the Navy legal office, Mr. Phillips prosecuted and defended sailors charged with military crimes ranging from murder to treason in wartime. He was very proud to have been a naval officer and to have served his country. After his military service, Mr. Phillips joined the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 1960. By the time he left the SEC in 1968, he had held various positions on the SEC staff, including Assistant to the Chairman, Assistant General Counsel and Staff Director of SEC Corporate Disclosure and Investment Company Studies. After leaving the SEC, Mr. Phillips practiced securities law for 46 years, serving as counsel to clients such as Fidelity Investments. He established Hill, Christopher and Phillips in Washington, D.C. That firm merged with Kirkpatrick & Lockhart in 1981, which eventually merged with what is now K&L Gates. In 2000, Mr. Phillips opened the K&L Gate’s San Francisco office, taking and passing the notoriously difficult California Bar Examination at age 70, so that he could be near his children and grandchildren. In 2001 Mr. Phillips received the William O. Douglas Award of the SEC Alumni Association for contributions to the development of securities law and service to the financial and SEC communities over the years. In 2009 he was named to the San Francisco Business Times’ list of Best Lawyers for Securities Law. Mr. Phillips was a Chair of the Section of Business Law of the American Bar Association from 1993-1994. He had previously served as Vice-Chair and Editor of the Section’s publication entitled The Business Lawyer from 1991-1992 and Chair of the Committee on Federal Regulation of Securities from 1983-1986. He also served as Chair of the Executive Council of the Securities Law Committee of the Federal Bar Association from 1981-1983. He was a frequent lecturer at securities law conferences, including conferences sponsored by the American Bar Association, American Law Institute, Bureau of National Affairs, Federal Bar Association, Institutional Investor Magazine, Practising Law Institute, and New York Law Journal. Mr. Phillips is survived by his wife of 62 years, Elda Marie Phillips, his daughter Laurie Phillips Dubin, sons David and Stephen, and nine grandchildren, Zachary, Alexander and Lindsay Dubin, Dominic, Sophie and Lexi Phillips, Henry and James Phillips and Gabriel DeForest, his son-in-law Scott Dubin and daughters-in-law Mary Houle Phillips and Wendy DeForest Phillips. Donations in memory of Richard Phillips may be made to the Canal Alliance, a non-profit champion of immigrants who are challenged by a lack of resources and an unfamiliar environment at https://donate.canalalliance.org/checkout/donation?eid=137774.