Stacy D. Phillips

Since 2012, Phillips has handled more domestic violence and drug addiction cases as a certified family law specialist, and in the last six months, she's had some "very significant" ones.

Phillips said some of her recent clients are from a "pillar of the community" status compared to when she made a name for herself representing celebrities. One client called Phillips from Las Vegas, where her husband had beaten her again, and "the rest is history."

In two cases, Phillips said clients got restraining orders immediately. Talking to one client six months ago, Phillips said she said, "I hope you remain alive."

"It's not the first time I've said that to people," she said.

Dealing with domestic violence cases is a lot of responsibility, Phillips said.

"Orders are only as good as the people who follow then," she said. "If someone's going to hurt someone, they're determined to do it. Thankfully, not all of my practice is dealing with domestic violence."

When clients write to Phillips or other lawyers at Blank Rome to thank them, Phillips said she cries.

"Sometimes they don't understand because their heads are spinning," Phillips said, referring to the client letters. "But if we can accomplish something, they finally sort of get it. We know what we do. We know we make the difference in children's lives."

Phillips is also passionate about doing her part to make the LA County court's Family Law Division run smoothing. She offered high praise for Judge Thomas Trent Lewis, the new supervising judge.

"He's trying to make structural changes to lighten the burden on judges, such as having hearings not spaced out a long time," she said

— Matt Sanderson