William K. Phillips - known as Bill - is the founder and managing partner of Phillips & Associates, a New York employment law firm representing employees exclusively in sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and hostile work environment cases. His firm has handled more than 8,000 employment matters, litigated nearly 2,000 cases, and recovered over $360 million for employees.
Downtown Magazine wrote: "Before there was #MeToo, there was Bill Phillips."
I asked Bill what led him to start his own firm.
"I saw a big gap in the firms that were able to represent employees who are victims of harassment, hostile work environment, and discrimination," he told me. "There were mainly smaller firms — one or two, maybe five lawyers — and they have to go up against these huge law firms that the employers hire. I knew right from the beginning I had to build a firm that had the human resources and the financial resources to stand up against those powerful litigation law firms."
He built it that way from the start. Starting with himself and a paralegal, he developed a system - a partner or lead litigator, an associate, a paralegal, plus his own oversight - and then replicated it. Today, the firm operates 20 individual teams, each functioning as its own profit center, with Bill reviewing every case monthly for strategy and value.
"You can't go up against big law firms without a team. They'll bury you."
His background as a former investment banker and real estate investor gave him a financial discipline that most lawyers don't bring to firm building. The concept he returns to is the war chest - the financial reserves that allow a contingency firm to fund discovery, depositions, and expert witnesses without cutting corners when cases get expensive.
"Firms that succeed have a war chest," he said. "You have to have the money to do all the discovery that needs to be done - to push the case, to hire the experts, whether it's a private investigator or an expert on power dynamics and trauma. That's what gets you the best result."
The transformation he describes as a leader is about learning to step back. Lawyers, he says, have big egos - and getting to the next level requires letting go of the need to be the best at everything.
"In order to get to that next level, you've got to relinquish your ego. You need to know that you're not the smartest person in the room or be willing to not be the smartest person in the room."
Bill's work extends well beyond the courtroom. He founded the National Plaintiffs' Summit on Sexual Harassment and Employment Discrimination - a national conference that brings together plaintiff-side employment lawyers to exchange strategies and advance litigation. He founded HarassmentHelp.org to help employees understand their rights before deciding whether to pursue legal action. And he hosts the podcast "Not in the (Company) Newsletter," where employment lawyers, psychotherapists, and people who have experienced workplace harassment discuss how misconduct unfolds and what employees can do about it.
Are you an employee in New York dealing with workplace harassment, discrimination, or retaliation? Connect with William Phillips and check out Phillips & Associates | Sexual Harassment, Discrimination, & Employment Lawyers.