Phillip Sharp

Senior Counsel

Houston
T: 713.210.7419
F: 713.650.9701

Phillip Sharp is a senior counsel in the Houston office whose practice focuses on serving as a mediator, arbitrator, internal investigator and expert witness.

Professional Biography

Mr. Sharp is a retired trial lawyer in Houston with extensive first-chair jury trial experience representing companies across various industries in cases ranging from breach of contract and fraud lawsuits to fiduciary duty cases to catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death claims. His 30-plus years in private practice enable him to serve as a mediator and arbitrator in complex commercial disputes, multi-party personal injury cases, first-party insurance claims and employment lawsuits.

Mr. Sharp has tried oil and gas lease disputes, environmental pollution cases, business interruption claims, fiduciary duty claims, pipeline construction cases, employment discrimination and retaliation cases, and a variety of industrial and occupational injury lawsuits, including wrongful death and survival cases. Mr. Sharp has represented exploration and production companies, midstream pipelines, oilfield service companies, refineries and forest products manufacturers.

Mr. Sharp conducts internal investigations for public school districts in Texas.

Defended a natural gas pipeline company in a two-week jury trial involving a catastrophic brain injury sustained by a contractor's employee.
Served as lead counsel in a three-week jury trial involving fraud in an oil and gas transaction.
Defended a refinery in a multi-party wrongful death case arising from a boiler explosion. Obtained a ruling from the court of appeals on an application for writ of mandamus that is now the seminal case in Texas on responsible third-party practice.
Served as lead counsel in a six-week jury trial involving allegation of breach of fiduciary duty involving joint venturers in the transportation of natural gas.
Served as lead trial counsel for an exploration and production company in a dispute over post-sale purchase price adjustments.
Tried a two-week race discrimination case for a major forest products manufacturer.
Investigated complaints of hostile work environment based on race and gender at a large suburban public school district.
Investigated alleged sexual harassment claims made against a public school administrator.
Defended a major energy infrastructure company in a federal lawsuit by a former employee alleging race discrimination and wrongful termination and seeking damages of more than $1 million.
Represented an engineering company in a $50 million property damage and personal injury lawsuit alleging the company's faulty design of a railyard caused flooding. Achieved a favorable settlement.
Defended a food processing company in a $3 million personal injury lawsuit arising from a trucking accident. Negotiated a favorable settlement.

Member – American Board of Trial Advocates
AV^® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization
Member – Phi Beta Kappa
Member – Order of the Barristers
Member – State Bar of Texas
Member – Houston Bar Association

Board Certified, Personal Injury Trial Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization

"Chicanery in Texas: How Much Is Too Much," Houston, Texas
"Jury Selection in Employment Cases," Dallas, Texas
"Unscrambling the Egg: Jury Selection from the Defense Perspective," New York, New York

Practical Tips for Jury Selection (March 1, 2021)

Practices

Industries

Education

A.A. White Dispute Resolution Center, University of Houston, Mediator Training, 2014
University of Texas School of Law, J.D., 1990
Louisiana State University, Ph.D., 1985

Admissions

Texas
United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

Featured Media

Phillip Sharp Comments on Texas Supreme Court Evidentiary Ruling in Law360

News / July 6, 2018

Law360 Highlights Addition of Phillip Sharp to the Firm

News / April 20, 2017

Phillip Sharp Joins Baker Donelson's Business Litigation Team in Houston

Press Release / April 18, 2017

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Baker Donelson is a national law firm with more than 650 attorneys and public policy advisors representing more than 30 practice areas to serve a wide range of legal needs. Clients receive knowledgeable guidance from experienced, multi-disciplined industry and client service teams, all seamlessly connected across 23 offices in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.