Attorney profile
Jonathan L.A. Phillips, Attorney
The short version
Peoria-based litigator handling intellectual property, internet, utility, and energy disputes for clients ranging from solo inventors to established companies.
Strengths
- Maintains a 5.00 average across 12 Google reviews, with reviewers repeatedly citing responsiveness, clarity, and a calm approach to stressful disputes.
- Handles a wide scope of matters, including intellectual property, internet law, utility and energy disputes, with appearances in federal trial and appellate courts, before the USPTO, TTAB, WIPO, the Illinois Commerce Commission, and AAA, JAMS, and FINRA arbitration panels.
- Serves clients across a broad size range, from solo inventors and early-stage startups to companies with tens or hundreds of millions in revenue, in sectors including technology, e-commerce, food and beverage, arts and entertainment, and healthcare.
- Reviewers describe favorable and cost-conscious outcomes, including dismissal from a trademark lawsuit, settlements below initial expectations, and voluntarily refunded retainers or costs.
- Feedback highlights detail-oriented work, clear billing practices, and a free initial consultation, including for clients located outside Illinois and overseas.
Considerations
- Clients describe prompt, accessible consultations and understandable explanations from the firm rather than repeated difficulty obtaining answers.
- Written accounts praise resolutions below expected costs and returned retainers; some feedback names a colleague as well as Jonathan Phillips.
About Jonathan L.A. Phillips, Attorney
Jonathan L.A. Phillips is a Peoria, Illinois attorney whose practice centers on litigation, with a focus on intellectual property disputes, internet law, and utility and energy matters. He practices at Brown, Hay & Stephens, LLP, described as Illinois’ oldest law firm, after building an intellectual property boutique practice of his own. His approach is shaped by the view that the strategy set on day one often determines how the rest of a dispute unfolds.
His courtroom and tribunal experience is broad. He litigates in federal trial and appellate courts across the United States, appears before the USPTO, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and WIPO, and handles matters before the Illinois Commerce Commission. He also represents clients in arbitration through AAA, JAMS, and FINRA, and in Illinois state courts at every level. Beyond disputes, he helps clients build and protect patents, trademarks, copyrights, and the portfolios that hold them together, with attention to developing areas such as the intersection of artificial intelligence and intellectual property, Schedule A enforcement against foreign e-commerce sellers, and serial plaintiff matters.
The client base reflects that range. It includes solo inventors and early-stage startups as well as companies with tens or hundreds of millions in revenue, spanning technology providers, e-commerce and retail, food and beverage, arts and entertainment, healthcare, and other legal professionals. Phillips studied chemistry at Bradley University before earning his J.D. and a certificate in intellectual property law from DePaul University College of Law. He teaches Intellectual Property and the Entrepreneur at Bradley, was a founding board member of Startup Peoria, and remains active in Illinois’ startup and entrepreneurial ecosystem. He also serves on the board of Central Illinois Friends and the Springfield Cemetery Historical Preservation Board.
Feedback from the firm’s 12 Google reviews, which average 5.00, is consistent in tone. Reviewers repeatedly describe prompt communication, clear explanations of complicated situations, and a calm, confident presence during stressful disputes. Several mention favorable or better-than-expected results, including dismissal from a trademark lawsuit, settlements reached for less than initially anticipated, and refunded retainers or costs when matters resolved on their own. Small businesses, musicians, and individual sellers appear prominently among those commenting, along with clients located outside Illinois and overseas. Reviewers also note detail-oriented work and clear billing practices. The website states that the views expressed there are his own and not his firm’s, and that nothing on it constitutes legal advice.
Recurring feedback
What clients consistently mention
- Communication and responsiveness: reviewers regularly describe prompt replies, clear explanations of complex situations, and accessible initial consultations.
- Outcomes and cost control: multiple reviews mention quick resolutions, dismissals, settlements below initial cost expectations, and refunded retainers or costs.
- Fit for small businesses and creators: recurring feedback comes from small sellers, musicians, and small operations facing intimidating legal letters.
- Remote and cross-border representation: reviewers note effective communication and results while working with clients outside Illinois and overseas.
- Professionalism and organization: reviewers cite detail-oriented work, reliable follow-up, and transparent billing practices.
All reviews
5 out of five stars based on 12 reviews.
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