SAN ANTONIO – If it were up to Commissioner Trish DeBerry, Bexar County would drop Martin Phipps – releasing the attorney completely from his representation of the county in a $1 billion opioid lawsuit.
Phipps was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of telephone harassment following a complaint made by his ex-wife.
Over the past year, Phipps’ partners have abandoned his law firm one by one, causing a slew of name changes. The latest departure was made by T.J. Mayes last month. Mayes, the former chief of staff for Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolf, had joined the firm back in October.
On Feb. 23, the Bexar County Commissioners Court approved a motion to appoint Mikal Watts of Watts Guerra as lead counsel on the county’s opioid suit.
Phipps had been designated as attorney in charge since Aug. 30, 2019.
“It would be my … preference that we release the Phipps law firm,” DeBerry said during the meeting. “I don’t believe they can carryout the full duties … based upon … the fact that the firm has changed names several times over the past two or three months – I don’t know if they have the capacity to do what we need them to do.”
On Feb. 24, Watts was designated as the new attorney in charge, court records show.