President Obama today nominated Wyoming Attorney General Gregory Alan Phillips to the Tenth Circuit. The White House’s official announcement states:
Gregory Alan Phillips has served as Wyoming’s Attorney General since March 2011. As Attorney General, he is the chief law enforcement officer of the state and his office represents Wyoming in all criminal appeals and civil suits before state and federal courts.
Phillips grew up in Evanston, Wyoming. He received his B.A. from the University of Wyoming in 1983 and his J.D. with honors from the University of Wyoming College of Law in 1987. After graduating from law school, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Alan B. Johnson of the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming from 1987 to 1989. In 1989, Phillips joined his father and brother in their general law practice in Evanston, handling a broad range of civil matters. From 1993 to 1999, he also represented Uinta County in the Wyoming State Senate. Phillips opened the law firm Mead & Phillips in 1998, where he handled a wide variety of civil litigation and prosecuted Medicaid reimbursement claims on behalf of Wyoming. In 2003, he joined the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming and handled criminal prosecutions and appeals on behalf of the government. As an Assistant United States Attorney, Phillips argued nineteen cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He continued to serve in the United States Attorney’s Office until he was selected to serve as Attorney General by current Wyoming Governor Matthew Mead.
If confirmed, Attorney General Phillips will be replacing Judge Terrence L. O’Brien, who will apparently take senior status in April.
Hat tips for this information go to Jason Steed (follow him on Twitter at @5thCircAppeals), and to Michelle Olsen, who runs the very informative blog, Appellate Daily (you can and should follow her on Twitter at @AppellateDaily).
