Mike Phillips is a partner in the New Orleans office of Kean Miller.  He maintains a diverse trial practice, representing local, regional and multinational corporate clients in the numerous areas of litigation, including energy and petrochemical, oil field legacy sites, complex commercial agreements, antitrust, trade regulation and consumer protection, construction and public works, as well as complex litigation and class action.  Mike's extensive trial resume includes high profile defense matters as well as multi-million dollar verdicts on behalf of plaintiffs in commercial litigation matters. 

As part of his practice, Mike has integrated the use of state-of-the art litigation software to maximize efficiency and the presentation of evidence and trial.  His experience in this area has resulted in authoring articles in national publications and speaking on the subject.

Representative Experience

• Representation of a major international oil and gas company in first ever trial and proceeding under Louisiana Act 312 dealing with oil field contamination sites.  This included a successful jury trial in Concordia Parish, Louisiana and a subsequent trial before the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources where the plaintiffs' proposed $120 million remediation plan was defeated.
  
• Representation of chemical and petroleum industry clients in "global warming" case where plaintiffs alleged that damages from Hurricane Katrina were the result of defendants' contribution to global warming: The United States Supreme Court denied plaintiff's application for review after the case was successfully defeated in the district and appellate courts.
  
• Representation of major international oil and gas refinery in defense of a claim for alleged environmental damage, requiring the remediation of wetlands: After a multi-week trial in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, the matter was resolved in a manner that allowed the client future control of the property.
  
• Representation of clients in defense of numerous suits for damages to oyster beds by oil and gas exploration in the marshes of south Louisiana: This representation included numerous individual suits as well as defeating attempts by plaintiffs to certify a class action against the client in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
  
• Representation of major waste disposal company in mass toxic tort exposure case involving over 2,000 plaintiffs: Plaintiffs alleged illness resulting from exposure to dioxins and other contaminants from the clients waste treatment facilities.  Plaintiffs ultimately ceased prosecution of the claims against the waste disposal company.
  
• Representation of the water heater industry in defense of multi state civil and criminal litigation relating to product failure as well as trial counsel against supplier of defective component part: This representation concluded in a multi-month trial in Civil District Court for Parish of Orleans.
  
• Representation of gasoline refiner against civil and criminal antitrust violations and below cost sales: Following a trial to the judge on the issue of relevant market and the scope of the below cost sales definition for manufacturers in Louisiana, the court found in favor of the defendants and the case was ultimately dismissed.
  
• Representation of clients in a variety of state and federal antitrust matters dealing with alleged conspiracies, tying, monopolization, and price discounting, including seminars to major retail sales department on Robinson-Patman Act compliance.
• Representation in petroleum dealer termination cases in various states.
• Representation in major construction litigation involving damage by a public entity that resulted in a multi-million dollar recovery by the client after a multi-week jury trial.
  

Education

Mike earned his B.S. from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1988. He earned his J.D. in 1991 from the LSU Law Center where he was a member of the Louisiana Law Review.

Admissions

• Admitted, Louisiana, 1991; United States District Court for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Louisiana; United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit

Memberships

• Member, Louisiana State (Officer, Antitrust and Trade Regulation Section) and American Bar Associations

Articles, Publications, Presentations

• Act 312 Update, 57th Annual Louisiana Mineral Law Institute, LSU Law Center, March 26, 2010.
  
• Co-Author, Louisiana Chapter of American Bar Association, Antitrust Practices and Statutes, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Ed.
• Organization Sans Binders, Law Technology News, December 2006
• Featured in Forbes Magazine, May 2008
• Louisiana Superlawyer 2007
• Antitrust Ethics (CLE seminar materials)
• Robinson-Patman Act Compliance (seminar materials)