About Carlin J
Carlin J Phillips began his academic path at Assumption College, where he earned a B.A. in biology in 1987. He turned to law soon after and received his J.D. from New England Law | Boston in 1992. Several years later he attended Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyer’s College, completing that program in 2000.
Phillips launched his legal career in private practice immediately after law school. His first post was as an associate at Keches & Mallen, P.C., beginning in 1992. He moved to O’Brien Law Offices as an associate in 1994 and thereafter opened his own practice in 1996 under the name Law Office of Carlin J. Phillips. In 1997 he co-founded Phillips Garcia, where he serves as partner.
Courtroom work and trial training have been recurring themes in Phillips’s career. After attending the Trial Lawyer’s College, he stayed active in the instruction side of the profession. From 2007 through 2012 he worked with the American Bar Association’s General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Division as a trial instructor and coach. That experience reflects an ongoing interest in the craft of trial advocacy rather than a shift away from practice.
Phillips has also taken on roles in professional organizations and legal education. He has been a member of the Massachusetts Association of Trial Lawyers. In 2016 he served as State Chair for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers chapter, a role that ran into 2017. In the same year he held an adjunct teaching post at Suffolk University Law School for a term in 2016.
Colleagues and students have encountered Phillips in courtrooms and classrooms. He combines years of courtroom work with teaching assignments and organizational leadership. His trajectory shows a lawyer who has moved steadily from associate roles to private practice and then to partnership while continuing to teach and train other lawyers.
He practices law in Massachusetts at Phillips Garcia, where he maintains an active trial practice.
