Sandra L. Phillips

Lawyer Sandra L. Phillips was born on December 11, 1965 in Beaumont, Texas to Eloise Phillips and Felix Phillips, Sr. She graduated from Beaumont Charlton-Pollard High School in 1984 and went on to earn her B.A. degree in journalism from the University of Texas in Austin in 1988 and her J.D. degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1991.

From 1991 to 1993, Phillips served as in-house counsel for Chevron Corporation in Houston, Texas before joining the law firm of Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Martin as an associate. She became a partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P. in 1995 and remained there until 2003, when she joined BakerHostetler. Phillips then returned to at Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P. as a managing partner in 2004. That same year, she joined Pfizer Inc. in New York City as senior vice president, associate general counsel, and chief litigation counsel before returning to Houston as a partner at the law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius L.L.P. In 2012, Phillips was hired as group vice president, assistant general counsel, chief legal officer, and corporate secretary at Toyota Motor North America. She was later promoted to deputy general counsel, group president, and chief diversity officer.

Phillips was a founding member of the Center for Women in Law at the University of Texas School of Law in 2009. In 2017, she served as the chair of the Women’s Power Summit for the center and became a director of Mine Safety Appliances, where she was a member of the audit committee and chair of the law committee. Phillips also served on several boards, including the YWCA USA, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, and the University of Texas Law School Foundation.

Phillips has received numerous awards throughout her career. She was the recipient of the 2008 Defense Research Institute’s Diversity Pioneer Award, the 2016 Legacy Award from the Brennan Center for Justice, the 2017 Champion of Diversity Award from DCEO, and the Outstanding Alumnus Award from the University of Texas School of Law in 2018. In 2017, she was named one of the Most Powerful Women in Business by Black Enterprise and General Counsel Impact Player of the Year by Texas Lawyer. She was also named as a Burton Foundation Legend in Law.

Phillips resides in Plano, Texas.

Sandra L. Phillips was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on August 2, 2024.