

W. Brantley Phillips, Jr.
Member
Nashville
(615) 742-7723
bphillips@bassberry.com
https://www.bassberry.com/professionals/phillips-w-brantley/

Brant Phillips is chair of the firm’s 100-attorney Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practice Group. Previously, Brant served on the firm’s Executive Committee and as co-chair of its Securities & Shareholder Litigation Practice Group. Brant’s practice focuses on complex business litigation and healthcare matters, and he routinely serves as lead counsel to public and private companies and their directors in high-stakes arbitrations, securities and shareholder class actions, derivative actions and business fraud cases throughout the country. Drawing on his background in public policy, Brant also leads clients through administrative and enforcement proceedings before government boards and commissions, with a special focus on obtaining certificates of need and regulatory approvals for the establishment and operation of healthcare facilities and services.
Brant’s practice involves:
- Business Disputes – Representing plaintiffs and defendants in a wide range of complex business disputes including business fraud, breach of contract, corporate and partnership dissolutions, as well as insurance disputes.
- Securities & Shareholder Litigation – Representing public and private companies in securities and shareholder class actions, derivative actions and merger and acquisition litigation involving claims for breach of fiduciary duty and breach of securities laws.
- Certificate of Need & CON Hearings – Representing a wide array of healthcare providers – including ambulatory surgery centers, nonprofit hospitals, imaging centers, outpatient diagnostic centers, physician practice groups, rehabilitation centers and others – in connection with the regulatory approvals needed to proceed with new service lines or major capital projects. Past projects include the approval of three $100 million proton beam therapy facilities in Tennessee.
- Regulatory & Administrative Proceedings – In addition to CON proceedings, representing business interests in regulatory and administrative matters before state and federal agencies, including the Tennessee Ethics Commission, the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance, the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, the Tennessee Department of Health, the Tennessee Department of Revenue, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, the Office of the Tennessee Attorney General and the federal Rural Utilities Service, among others.
Brant serves as primary counsel to the board of directors of Middle Tennessee Electric, which has more than 300,000 members and ranks as one of the largest utility cooperatives in the United States.
Brant has significant experience with state and federal campaign finance law issues, and he is regularly asked to advise clients, political campaigns and other political organizations.
Brant also is involved with the firm’s pro bono initiative and led the firm’s successful efforts to obtain executive clemency for a Tennessee death row inmate.
Memberships
American Constitution Society — Nashville Chapter Advisory Board Co-Chair (2010-2015)
American Health Law Association (AHLA)
Birmingham-Southern College — Alumni Board (2016-2019)
Harry Phillips American Inn of Court (2008-2012)
Leadership Nashville (Class of 2019)
Leadership Tennessee (Class of 2016)
Martha O’Bryan Center — Board of Directors (2016-present)
Nashville Ballet – Board of Directors (2017-present); Member, Audit Committee (2020-present)
Nashville Bar Association — Board of Directors (2016-2020); First Vice-President (2020); Member, Executive Committee (2020)
Nashville Bar Foundation — Fellow (Class of 2014)
Nashville Symphony Orchestra — Board of Directors (2014-2020); Member, Executive Committee (2015-present); Chair, External Affairs Committee (2019-present); Chair, Governance Committee (2015-2018)
Tennessee Bar Association — Leadership Law (Class of 2006)
Washington & Lee University — Law School Alumni Council (2013-2020)
Publications
Media Mentions & Firm News
Accolades
Chambers USA — Litigation: General Commercial (2023)
The Best Lawyers in America© — Administrative/Regulatory Law; Commercial Litigation; Government Relations Practice; Litigation: Health Care; Litigation: Securities (2008-2024)
Best Lawyers® — Nashville Litigation: Health Care “Lawyer of the Year” (2024, 2020); Nashville Administrative/Regulatory Law “Lawyer of the Year” (2018, 2016)
Benchmark Litigation — Local Litigation Star: Tennessee (2017-2024); Future Star: Tennessee (2010-2016)
Nashville Business Journal — “Best of the Bar” (2008, 2022-2023)
Nashville Post “In Charge” — Legal Sector (2015-2023)
Mid-South Super Lawyers (2013-2023)
Top 50 Nashville Super Lawyers (2016-2018, 2021-2023)
Top 100 Tennessee Super Lawyers (2016-2018, 2021-2023)
Martindale-Hubbell — AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated (2005-present)
Tennessee Bar Association — Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Initiative Award (2011)
Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers — Capital Defense Award (2011)
Washington & Lee Law Review — Senior Articles Editor (1996-1997)
Law Clerk to William M. Acker, Jr., U.S. District Court, Northern District of Alabama (1997-1998)
Phi Beta Kappa
Omicron Delta Kappa