John G. Phillips

Managing Attorney, Bankruptcy Division

I’m John, the Managing Attorney of the Bankruptcy Division of Lion Legal.

In my immediate nine years before joining Lion, I practiced by myself here in North Little Rock; and, prior to my solo practice I was lucky enough to be mentored by and law partners with a Bankruptcy icon: Raymond Weber.

When I was in high school, my father had to file bankruptcy. He often credited Mr. Weber with saving our home and giving him a fresh start. After completing law school and working solo for three years, I was looking for an area of the law where I could help people, and that wasn’t so much focused on adversarial hearings. When Mr. Weber offered me the opportunity to come work with him in 2000, based upon my father’s recommendation of how good of a man he was, I jumped at the serendipitous chance.

The opportunity to bring my robust bankruptcy practice to Lion Legal in 2024 – by starting, managing, and growing our Bankruptcy Division – is another serendipitous opportunity for both me and for Lion. The joining of two well-established firms, whose strong community commitment and values align so well, is exactly how we reach our individual goals (and now our collective goal) of expanding our service to our community by roaring to the rescue of even more Arkansans with exceptional communication and exceptional results.

While I am relatively new to Lion Legal, I am definitely not new to the practice of law or to Sherwood & North Little Rock.

For the past 20 years (and for the next 20), my work is almost exclusively in the Bankruptcy Court helping everyday Arkansans save their homes, cars, paychecks and restoring financial well being. My career focus and our focus at Lion Legal is on Consumer Chapter 7 & Chapter 13 work, and helping people who have been denied their Social Security Disability benefits.

Lakewood is home now; but Sherwood shaped my youth, where I attended Sylvan Hills High School, UALR and then the UALR Law School, graduating in 1997 and becoming licensed to practice law in 1998.

My roots run deep here; and I pride (no pun intended) myself on showing (not just saying) how deeply committed I am to our clients, the legal community, and Arkansas.

I served as a Debtor’s Representative on the Eastern District Bar Advisory Committee for the Bankruptcy Court and was awarded the Attorney of the Year award in 2007 by Vocals of Pulaski County for my extensive amount of Pro Bono work. In 2009-2010 I served as the President of the Debtor-Creditor Bar of Central Arkansas.

As proud as I am of my professional contributions to this world, that pride pales in comparison to how proud I am of my daughter, currently a student at the University of Arkansas. It’s yet to be determined if she follows in her father’s legal footsteps, but as every father feels, she will be the best at whatever she decides is her passion in life and I’m blessed to watch her walk her path, wherever that takes her. My focus on helping others achieve peace of mind and well-being in their lives, in turn blesses me to achieve focus and peace of mind in my life too.

My email is [email protected].