He grew up in New York City and was a product of Horace Mann School. At Princeton, he served as president of Court Club and was interclub billiards champion. Phil graduated with honors from the Woodrow Wilson School.
After earning a law degree from Columbia, he served two years in the Army at Camp Chaffee, Ark. In 1955, he joined the New York City law firm Willkie, Farr & Gallagher, where he spent his entire career working in the corporate and antitrust fields. He retired as a senior partner in 1988.
Phil honed his golf game as a member of the Garden City Golf Club, toured North America with his family on summer camping trips, and enjoyed time at the family place in the Catskills.
In retirement, he served as president of the golf club and retained a leadership position on the board of directors for the LaGuardia House, a large community center in Harlem.
Phil and his wife, Lois, spent 20 years wintering at the Black Diamond golf community in Lecanto and summering in the Catskills. He leaves behind Lois, four children, eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.