Nicole Phillis

Nicole Phillis defends businesses and individuals in federal and state litigation, across the tech, media, financial services, insurance, entertainment, cannabis, and food and beverage industries. She focuses her practice on bet-the-company litigation, trade secrets and employee mobility disputes, shareholder disputes, internal and governmental litigations, consumer class actions, and complex contractual disputes. Nicole also regularly advises and counsels employer clients on high stakes on-boarding/off-boarding, confidentiality and proprietary information policies, employee mobility and restrictive covenants, remediation, and trade secret issues. Nicole also serves as co-chair of DWT's Cannabis Industry Group. Nicole also co-chairs DWT's Los Angeles Office Diversity & Inclusion Committee.

A former 9th Circuit law clerk for the Honorable Milan D. Smith Jr., Nicole has briefed unfair competition, false advertising, employee misclassification, and copyright appeals to the 9th Circuit. Nicole serves as the Diversity and Inclusion Officer for the North American Forum of the International Bar Association and the Vice President of the Board of Directors for the California Cannabis Industry Association.

In her civic and political life, Nicole is a former two-term elected official for the City of Santa Monica, where she served as a commissioner on the Santa Monica Rent Control Board from 2014-2022. In her spare time, Nicole volunteers with large and giant breed animal rescue in Los Angeles. Nicole also maintains an active pro bono practice, which she has devoted primarily to representing immigrants seeking lawful status in the United States.