John M. Phillips

John Michael Phillips (born February 4, 1975) is an American lawyer, consumer and civil rights advocate, legal commentator for the media and former radio show host. He gained notoriety for handling personal injury and wrongful death cases. He is licensed to practice law in Florida, Georgia and Alabama.

Biography
Phillips was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama.

He received a BA from the University of Alabama in Political Science and Criminal Justice in 1997. From there, he attended the University of Alabama School of Law, receiving a JD in 2000. He subsequently was licensed to practice law in Florida, Georgia and Alabama.

Phillips currently resides in Jacksonville, Florida, is married and has one son.

Career
John started his career as a civil litigation attorney, specializing in defending cases involving serious personal injury. He worked his way up, becoming a named partner of his firm, Dore, Lanier & Phillips, at age 32. He worked hand-in-hand with some of the largest insurance and Fortune 500 companies in the world exposing corruption and misrepresentation by medical professionals and defending many types of legal proceedings.

After over 8 years with his firm, he joined what is believed to be the largest personal injury firm in the world, Morgan & Morgan, and represented victims of traumatic incidents, where he secured large settlements and verdicts for clients. In 2011, John founded his own law office and made his practice a much more personal practice.

Jordan Davis & Shooting Cases
John Phillips was hired by the Ron Davis and Lucy McBath after their son, Jordan Davis, was shot and killed by Michael Dunn the day after Thanksgiving in 2012. He also represents the families of other shooting victims- Kalil McCoy, Zuheily Rosado, Paul Sampleton, Brandon Green and Aviana Bailey, amongst others.

Davis' case has received worldwide attention. Police say 45-year-old Michael Dunn fired 10 times at a vehicle in which 17-year-old Jordan Davis was a passenger on Black Friday just after 7:30 p.m. in Jacksonville, Florida, while Davis sat in a car with three friends. Michael Dunn, who was charged with his murder and remains behind bars, got into an argument with the teens over loud music. Jordan's death has made news around the nation much like the murder case of Trayvon Martin. Jordan's story has been told in JET and Rolling Stone magazine. It has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, HLN, TV ONE, BBC, Al Jazeera, Anderson Cooper and more.

Phillips is working with the Davis family both in aspects of the wrongful death of Jordan, but also to assist the discussion over changing controversial "Stand Your Ground" laws across the country and encouraging people to be more civil with each other. The focus is on uniting the country and not further dividing it. While in Washington, DC meeting with congress members, Nancy Pelosi invited John, Ron and Lucy to the Hearing on Gun Violence in February 2013 which also included the survivors of Newtown shooting.

Beach Driving Cases
John Phillips was hired by the Joynt family in 2011, days after Erin Joynt was injured on a Volusia County, Florida beach. He also represents Rinda Mizelle, a woman run over by Beach Patrol in Ft. Lauderdale. Florida has some of the stiffest sovereign immunity laws in the country. A tourist from Kansas, Erin and her family drove over 20 hours to spend some time on Daytona's famous beach. Erin was sunbathing when a truck performed what has been described as an improper U-turn and ran over her head and torso. She suffered hearing loss, sight impairment, facial fractures, broken ribs and a host of other injuries.

Mrs. Joynt's 8-year-old and 5-year-old were coming out of the water when it happened. Her 8-year-old daughter saw the incident and turned the smaller one around. She was mature enough to know she didn't want him to see this, which she discussed on NBC's Today Show with Matt Laurer. The Joynt family and Mr. Phillips appeared on NBC's Today Show on September 22, 2011. It made international news.

Erin's incident wasn't the first by Volusia County Beach Patrol. On May 13, 2011, a lifeguard ran over college student's arm and hand while making a U-turn on the beach. The Ohio tourist suffered minor injuries. She wasn't the first, either. Carole Dalton sunbathed in a beach chair near the lifeguard tower on June 9, 2010 when a lifeguard performed a U-turn and ran over her in her beach chair, where she became stuck for a period of time. She suffered a compound fracture to her right leg because her beach chair and her leg were trapped in the undercarriage of the truck. Dalton was out of work and her injuries included fractured shinbone that required surgery.

According to the lifeguard, it was "due to the blind spot" on his 2010 Ford pickup, he couldn't see Dalton. This was the same type truck used in the two subsequent incidents and Volusia County. Mrs. Joynt was the most traumatically injured. The vehicles still patrol Volusia beaches, despite plans to remove them that have existed for some time. Since 2007, more than 50 people have been struck or killed in beach-driving accidents. nAt least five of these incidents involved a Beach Patrol officer or lifeguard. None were fatal. Volusia has paid $135,000 in settlement costs to some of the victims.

Phillips is suing Volusia County. When the County released statements about Erin being "fine" and down playing the incident, Mr. Phillips spoke before the County Council. He told County representatives to get ready for a lawsuit and that more needed to be done to protect people. The County indicated cameras have been installed in the trucks.

He also represents Rinda Mizelle, a North Carolina woman, who was run over by a lifeguard in Ft. Lauderdale.

Ishika Lay Case
John M. Phillips is the attorney for Ishika Lay and her family, who was in a prolonged coma after collapsing in an Olympic qualifying tournament. Ishika Lay was a few fights away from realizing her dream of making the women's U.S. Olympic boxing team. It is the first time women's boxing has been an Olympic sport since 1904. Boxing was the only Olympic sport that didn't have a women's counterpart.

At Purdue University, Lay excelled at track and field. In 2002, a motorcycle accident in Jacksonville left her in a wheelchair for seven months, told she may never walk again. She fought both and earned praise as a wide receiver on a women's football team in Jacksonville. She then took up boxing.

On October 4, 2011 at the Police Athletic League Boxing Championship, the 32-year-old boxer from Jacksonville, Fla., collapsed. Ms. Lay was rushed to Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center, where she was in critical condition for many weeks. Ms. Lay's opponent was three to four feet outside of striking range when Ishika collapsed. Ms. Lay's trainer said Ms. Lay was in a sparring match and took several blows to the head and face ten days prior. Ms. Lay had complained of severe headaches since.

Acclaim
Since 2009, John has spoken hundreds of times on various legal topics. He has written law reviews and news pieces and has advised governments about legal and policy reform.

He has appeared on NBC’s the Today Show, CNN, MSNBC, HLN, BBC, Al Jazeera, RT TV, TV ONE and regularly appears on other national media outlets as a legal corespondent. In 2009, in 2010 and again in 2013, John was named a “Rising Star” and “Super Lawyer.”

He was also awarded the highest rating of 10 a lawyer can receive by Avvo. Martindale, a company rating lawyers since the 1800s, awarded John a rating of AV-Preeminent, the highest offered. In 2011 and again in 2012, John was awarded the title of “Best Lawyer in Jacksonville” by the Folio Weekly and its readers and also a "Top Lawyer" by 904 Magazine / Jacksonville Magazine. In 2011 and 2012, John was selected as one of the top 100 lawyers in Florida by the National Trial Lawyer Association. He has also been featured in other regional and national organizations and media as one of the top lawyers in the city, state and nation.

National Media Legal Correspondent
John is a reoccurring guest and legal analyst on HLN (CNN's Headline News program). His legal perspective and analysis has helped in-studio mock juries and TV audiences understand new elements of high profile cases to help form their own educated decisions. John participated on the show during the Jodi Aria's trial, when HLN had "the biggest percentage gains. The network posted its best May ever."