Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Brant Phillips, chair of the firm’s award-winning Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practice Group, was profiled in the Litigation Leaders Q&A series published by The AmLaw Litigation Daily. In addition to discussing his own career and perspective on the litigation space, Brant highlighted the firm’s unique approach to litigation client service and cross-office collaboration. When asked what distinguishes the Bass, Berry & Sims’ litigation team, Brant emphasized the firm’s business-minded focus on client success.
“Each of our clients has strategic business goals, and our job is to help them effectively navigate the litigation process so that they can accomplish those goals,” Brant said. “What counts as ‘success’ can vary widely from case-to-case depending on the business goal. Our team understands that, and we measure our success based on how well we are able to assist our clients in reaching their goals. It is a strategic mindset, and we think it allows us to be more effective partners to our clients.”
Detailing the firm’s breadth of service, Brant noted the team’s “five-star talent and experience in 15 different areas, including antitrust, construction disputes, copyright and trademark disputes, government contracting and bid protests, and data privacy and security. We are particularly strong, however, in the areas of healthcare compliance investigations and disputes, products liability, and shareholder and securities litigation.”
Brant also highlighted some of the team’s significant in-court wins in the past year, including a defense verdict in a week-long federal jury trial related to copyright infringement and the successful defense of summary judgment on appeal for a client facing claims for $45 million in damages related to a 2016 forest fire. Looking forward, the team will go to trial in May 2023 in a $200 million investments dispute and will spend time preparing for a securities class action matter set for trial in June 2024 where plaintiffs are seeking several billion dollars in damages.
When asked about his background, Brant highlighted his graduate school training in public policy at Duke University. Brant described how that training taught him to absorb loads of information quickly and to explain complex issues in ways that are easily understood – skills he sees as crucial to working effectively with colleagues, clients, judges and juries. Brant also highlighted the lessons he and his brother learned as paperboys while growing up in Birmingham, Alabama. According to Brant, that experience taught him “as much about being entrepreneurial and how to work with clients and manage their expectations as anything I have ever done.”
And while many litigators earn a reputation for being “sharks,” Brant said that, as far as his friends in Brazil are concerned, he is the guy you want by your side when fishing for piranha.
For the full Q&A that was published on November 28, please click here.