Member Snapshot: Fran Phillips '69

As an environmental law specialist and former executive with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Phillips works on environmental problems from every angle. Even when she is representing an alleged criminal polluter, she sees herself as an advocate for the environment.

Phillips once represented the owner of a portable toilet company with an employee who had been dumping waste into the Trinity River instead of disposing of it properly. "The final verdict was that the employee went to jail, and the owner of the company--who was unaware of what this employee was doing—did not," Phillips said. "But the real reward for me was the learning process for my client. He instituted checks and balances on his operation so that it would never happen again. That's when I think I can make a difference. I think I do as much good in private practice as I did working for the EPA."

And that's a lot of good. Phillips spent fifteen years, off and on, with the EPA--from the early 1970s, when she started as an enforcement attorney in the Atlanta regional office, until 1987, when she left after ten years as deputy regional administrator of the Dallas office. After two years teaching at SMU’s law school, Phillips joined Gardere.

Protecting the environment is not just Phillips's career, but her hobby as well. As the current president of Keep Dallas Beautiful, she was recently honored with the Ebby Rose Award of Distinction for her volunteer work for the community and the organization, which conducts litter surveys and pick-up projects, waterway clean-ups, neighborhood beautification projects, and is currently planning to refurbish the entry to Love Field.

Whatever work Phillips takes on--whether for the government, the plaintiff, the defense, or pro bono for the benefit of the Dallas area--you can be assured she’ll always be working for the environment.