As a Senior Attorney in Nachawati Law Group’s Public Entity Litigation division, Phil represents state and local governments in affirmative civil litigation in the areas of consumer protection, public nuisance, environmental harms, tech litigation, medical drug and medical devices, and more. Phil has more than 17 years of experience as an attorney, over 10 of that in the Attorney General space. He has extensive trial experience, and through his career has built deep relationships with the various State Attorney General Offices.

Phil is the former Chief of the Consumer Protection Bureau in the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office where he was instrumental in establishing and leading the nationwide Attorney General investigation into social media platforms and the harms that they cause to children. He also helped to co-lead and negotiate the largest Attorney General privacy settlement to date regarding allegations that Google misrepresented certain facets of their location tracking services. This settlement netted the states significant injunctive relief and $391.5 Million. He and his staff also worked in the Consumer Protection, Charities, Antitrust, and Tobacco fields, leading antitrust enforcement efforts against Google and other entities during his time there.

Prior to that, Phil was the only dedicated Consumer Protection Attorney for the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office from 2014 to 2020. He helped to lead the Attorney Generals Multistate investigation into Takata and Honda regarding allegations that Takata airbags were designed in such a way as to cause them to explode. That investigation helped lead to Takata’s eventual bankruptcy and closing, and also led to significant injunctive relief and payment to the States from Honda for their alleged complicity in the matter. While in the SD Attorney General’s Office he also handled Charities, Gaming, Municipality, and Antitrust issues. 

Phil started his career in private practice in Mitchell, SD where his practice was largely devoted to criminal defense and family law.

Phil graduated from the University of South Dakota School of Law and was admitted to the South Dakota State Bar in 2008, and the Nebraska Bar in 2021. He is also admitted to practice in the Federal Courts of each of those states, and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.