Burton Phillips

Burton Phillips has served as Counsel to the New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services since December 2021. As Counsel, Burton is responsible for advising the ILS Director as to overall planning and strategy, including ILS operations, intergovernmental relations, quarterly ILS Board meetings, and legal concerns affecting the mission and operations of the office, among other responsibilities.

Immediately prior to joining ILS, Burton served as Chief of Staff & Counsel to State Senator Brad Hoylman, the Chair of the New York State Senate Judiciary Committee. During his seven years with Senator Hoylman, Burton helped write and pass over 140 laws, including a repeal of New York's overly-broad loitering statute (S.1351 of 2021), the Police STAT Act requiring data reporting on people charged with misdemeanors and violations (S.1830-C of 2020), the Protect Our Courts Act to stop warrantless immigration arrests in New York courthouses (S.425-A of 2020), and legislation to ensure the right to a jury trial for all New Yorkers charged with B misdemeanors (S.689 of 2021). 

He has also served as Legislative Counsel for the New York State Attorney General's Office, Director of Executive Chamber Operations for the New York State Governor's Office, and Associate Counsel & Senior Research Analyst for the New York State Senate Policy Group.

Burton earned his J.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School, and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Connecticut.