INSIDER
DESCRIBE YOUR WORK:
I supervise a team of 16 lawyers and three paralegals who support AT&T’s Technology Operations, Wireless Network Architecture & Design, and Corporate Strategy organizations. Combined, these organizations have more than 100,000 employees. WHAT ACTIVITIES DO YOU ENJOY OUTSIDE OF WORK? My
favorite activities outside of work are traveling and spending time with family and friends. I got the traveling bug later in life, but over the past 12 years, Kim [Phipps ’91] and I and our beautiful daughters, Sara and Sydney, have traveled to 55 cities in 20 countries. Some of our most memorable trips were with Charles Durant ’91, his wife, Lois, and their children, Chelsea and Chris. We traveled together to Spain, Australia and New Zealand—where, in a moment of insanity, Charles and I both jumped 630 feet off of Auckland’s Sky Tower. I have the T-shirt to prove it. I also have a video that is not available for public viewing! ARE YOU WHERE YOU EXPECTED TO BE AT THIS STAGE OF YOUR CAREER AND LIFE? That depends
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ERROL S. PHIPPS ’91 VICE PRESIDENT AND ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL, AT&T DALLAS
on how far back you go. In 1991, I had no expectation about where I would be 25 years down the road. I was more focused on things like finding my way in a new city far from home, passing the bar and trying to bill enough hours at a large law firm. Even if I tried, I certainly would not have envisioned my career and life as they are today. That’s more a function of how clueless I was back then than anything I have accomplished. WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT YOUR LIFE 25 YEARS AFTER LAW SCHOOL? Despite not becoming an internet billionaire, I am blessed in more ways than I can count. Kim and I have been married for 26 years and counting, Sara is a 2016 graduate of the University of Michigan and Sydney is a junior at Penn State. We are all healthy. I have been continuously employed since graduation, including the last 21 years with AT&T. We have everything we need and most of the things we want. I’m still proud to be a lawyer and a graduate of UVA. Life for this kid from the Bronx is pretty good.
FALL 2016 UVA LAWYER 33