After Phil passed on Nov. 9, 2021, fellow board members shared their remembrances. He made all of us better leaders for Heart of Volusia.
Phil held nearly every office on the HOV board of directors over the past four decades.
Legal Career
Philip H. Elliott, Jr., was a mediator with Upchurch Watson White and Max and, in 2008, he celebrated 50 years as a member of The Florida Bar and was recognized for his half-century of service to the Volusia County legal community at the Volusia County Bar Association (VCBA) annual Traditions Night.
In 1964, Phil began practicing law with a Volusia County firm, Parkinson and Sessions. While there, he served as prosecutor for the City of Daytona Beach (1964) and as a judge in the Volusia County Small Claims Court (1964-1973). In 1987, Phil joined the firm now known as Cobb Cole and served there as counsel until 1998.
When Phil served as a judge, he regularly mediated disputes before setting them for trial. Active in alternative dispute resolution since 1989, he became a Florida Supreme Court certified mediator in 1991 and joined Upchurch Watson White & Max in 1998. He concentrated his entire practice on mediation and arbitration.
While he served as a professional neutral, Phil also worked long volunteer hours, and was a recipient of The Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award. Over the course of his entire career, Phil devoted more than 1,900 hours to pro bono service. He worked with the Pro Bono Program of Mid-Florida and, in the late 2000s, he met weekly with clients at the Daytona Beach Legal Advice Clinics. He also has provided free assistance to and through local churches.
Phil Elliott’s Earlier Years
He was born in Roanoke, Va. Prior to graduating from the University of Virginia with an L.L.B. (now J.D.) in 1958, Phil spent four years on active duty in the U.S. Navy. Subsequently, he joined the Naval Reserve, eventually serving as the commanding officer of a military detachment base in Daytona Beach.
Civic Life
In addition to his service with Heart of Volusia, Phil had been president of numerous civic organizations including Central Florida Legal Services and the East Volusia -Flagler Division of the American Cancer Society.
