Professional Experience

Antwan Phillips has a trial-oriented practice. His practice includes personal injury defense, premises liability, products liability, dental malpractice and trucking litigation. Phillips also represents a number of county and municipal governments on a variety of municipal law and finance issues. Phillips’ more recent experience includes:

• Defense of major automobile insurance companies in personal injury actions.
• Defense of major automobile manufacturer in actions involving Arkansas Lemon Law and Magunson-Moss Warranty Act.
• Defense of trucking companies in lawsuits involving personal injury and loss of life.
• Defense of dentists in dental malpractice lawsuits involving cosmetic and endodontic dentistry.
• Representation of municipalities in municipal finance issues in acquiring bond financing for construction improvements.

Antwan is also the host of the “Rock the Culture” podcast that provides trenchant analysis and hilarious banter on local news, events and politics. Hosts bring that same fun-loving but informed thought to weekly interviews with people who are impacting the culture of Little Rock and elsewhere in Arkansas.

WLJ Sports Law

Phillips, a former collegiate basketball player at Bowdoin College in Bowdoin, Maine, and at McClellan High School in Little Rock, is a founding member of WLJ Sports Law, the firm’s full-service practice group dedicated to the representation of collegiate and professional athletes and coaches. Since the NCAA removed its regulations against the commercial use of name, image and likeness (NIL) for student athletes in the summer of 2021, Phillips and the sports law team have represented businesses and student athletes across the state and region on NIL deals.

In 2022, Phillips successfully passed the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) Agent Certification Exam and is now a Certified NBPA Player Agent – one of only two certified agents in the state of Arkansas. As a result, Phillips now offers draft-eligible players assistance with decisions ranging from date of eligibility in declaring for the draft, performance training, media training, participation in the NBA Combine, and relationship building with NBA teams throughout the draft process and in free agency. Additionally, Phillips, as an experienced negotiator and litigator, will represent NBA players in contract negotiations, endorsement deals and brand development.

Recognition

In 2020, Arkansas Business named Phillips to its “40 Under 40” list of business and political leaders and, in 2013, he was included in their annual annual “20 in their 20s” issue. In 2017, Phillips was named to Arkansas Business’ inaugural “Arkansas 200” as one of the 200 most influential Arkansans. Mid-South Super Lawyers has recognized him as a “Rising Star” in the area of Civil Litigation Defense since 2014. He is a member of the American Bar Association, Arkansas Bar Association, Pulaski County Bar Association, National Association of Bond Lawyers, Defense Research Institute (DRI) and Arkansas Association of Defense Counsel. In 2016, he was appointed Vice Chair of DRI’s Young Lawyers Specialized Litigation Group. He is also a member and executive committee member of the Overton Inn of Court. In 2012, Phillips graduated as a Fellow of the American Board of Trial Advocates Trial College, after completing intensive trial training at Harvard Law School in Boston, MA.

Elected Service

In 2020, Phillips was elected as the Position 9 At-Large City Director for the City of Little Rock, making him the City’s newest Director. As an at-large member of the City Board of Directors, Phillips represents constituents across the entire city of Little Rock.

Community Involvement

Phillips is an alumnus of the Arkansas Commitment program and is the past President of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arkansas Board of Directors. He is also the President of the Public Education Foundation of Little Rock and a member of the Little Rock Area Public Education Stakeholders Group as appointed by the State Board of Education. Phillips was also selected as one of the co-chairs for Think Big Little Rock, a group established by Fifty for the Future and the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, which is charged with strategizing ways to enhance life in Little Rock and the surrounding communities.

Phillips is also a regular contributor to the Arkansas Times on legal and education-related issues. He previously served as an adjunct professor at the Bowen School of Law, where he taught a course on Sports Law.

Presentations

Phillips served as a panelist at the ALFA International 2023 International Client Seminar addressing this timely and critical topic: “Be An Ally, or Better Yet, An Accomplice: An open dialogue on how to navigate evolving expectations about equality and fairness in everyday encounters and dealings with microaggressions.”

In the fall of 2020, Phillips served as a panelist for the Arkansas Trucking Seminar Virtual 2020: Moving Forward Together, providing insight on “Zooming to Mediation: It Really Works.” In 2019, Phillips served as a panelist at the ALFA International Transportation Practice Group Seminar. The panel topic, “Looking at the World Through a Windshield,” focused on drivers who have been involved in litigation. He presented this same session at the Arkansas Trucking Seminar in September 2019. Phillips also served as a co-presenter at the DRI Trucking Law Primer in the summer of 2019, discussing “Jury Selection: Picking a Jury that Will Like Your Trucking Client.”