Susan is a native of Louisville, Kentucky.  She graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1978, with a Bachelor of Arts in Education.  She obtained her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1981, graduating in the top of her class.  While at UK College of Law, Susan was awarded the American Jurisprudence Award for Litigation and was a member of the Kentucky Law Journal and secretary-treasurer of the Moot Court Board. 

Following graduation from law school, Susan joined the law firm of Boehl Stopher & Graves where she practiced insurance defense litigation from 1981 to 1999.   In 1999 she and four other partners left Boehl Stopher & Graves to found Phillips Parker Orberson & Moore.  Susan's legal career has always involved litigation defense but in the last ten to fifteen years her practice has concentrated in the defense of medical malpractice cases wherein she represents hospitals, physicians and other healthcare professionals.  She also litigates employment cases, most prominently defending sexual harassment cases. 

Susan has tried over fifty jury trials and has only been disappointed in one verdict in her career.  She has been honored to be inducted as a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers (the first, and at this time the only, woman from Kentucky to be so honored).  She has an AV rating from Martindale Hubbel and has been selected as one of the Best Lawyers in America. 

Susan has long been a member of the Louisville Bar Association where she has served on the Board of Directors and chaired both the Litigation Section and the Public Service Committee.  She presently serves on the Board of Directors of the Louisville Bar Foundation and is a member of the Attorney Steering Committee for Citizens for Better Judges.  She is a former Commissioner on the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights and is also active in the Kentucky Bar Association, serving as a KBA Trial Commissioner.  Susan is also a member of the American Bar Association, Kentucky Defense Counsel and Defense Research Institute. 

Susan has been married to John Phillips since 1980 (yes, they really do like working together and no, they don’t always talk about law at home).  They have two children.  Susan has been an active volunteer in the community, serving on the Baptist Hospital East Institutional Review Board and the Board of Directors of the Junior League of Louisville.  She is active at Holy Trinity Church and Parish School and St. Xavier High School.  In her spare time (not much), Susan loves to cook and travel.