BATON ROUGE – Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has announced a new hire and some leadership changes at the Louisiana Department of Justice.
Philips
After practicing for 42 years at Taylor Porter Brooks & Phillips, Harry J. “Skip” Philips has come back as Assistant Chief Deputy Attorney General for the department’s Civil Divisions.
Murrill
Philips is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and is a member of the Council of the Louisiana Law Institute. He received his undergraduate and law degrees from Louisiana State University. Philips is also a graduate of the U.S. Army War College and a retired major general in the U.S. Army Reserve.
Prior to attending law school, Philips was an investigator in the public corruption section of the Criminal Division of the Attorney General’s Office.
Philips will serve alongside Natalie LaBorde, who also serves as Assistant Chief Deputy for the department’s Criminal Divisions. They both work directly under Larry Frieman, who serves as Chief Deputy.
“I was excited to return to a place where I began my professional employment 50 years ago,” Philips said. “The AG’s office has always held a special place in me and my wife Colleen’s life because we met here. I have known and admired Liz Murrill for a long time, and I was honored to be asked to work with her in representing the interests of the state.”
Murrill praised Philips.
“Adding Skip to our team is a gift – his legal experience, respect of his peers and colleagues across the state, and skill in organizational leadership will make us stronger and help equip our lawyers to better serve the state,” she said. “I’m delighted to welcome him to our executive leadership team.”
Lacey Hebert has been promoted as the new Director of the Administrative Services Division after previously serving as the Deputy Director. Prior to that, she served as the Deputy Director of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and as a prosecutor in the unit. Hebert has been with the office for more than 17 years. She received her law degree from Southern University Law Center and her undergrad degree from University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Alongside her husband, she’s raising three young children.
“I’m excited about working in this new role with this current administration and the direction that it is headed under Attorney General Murrill’s leadership,” Hebert said. “I’m looking forward to continuing to serve the DOJ and the State of Louisiana in this new capacity.”
Murrill said Hebert is a valued member of the leadership team.
“Lacey has a proven track record in our agency, starting in Medicaid Fraud where she demonstrated her legal acumen, managerial abilities and devotion to the state and DOJ,” Murrill said.
Stormy Hambrice has been promoted to Chief of Staff after previously serving as Director of Administrative Services. Hambrice has 25 years of legal experience. She previously served as a paralegal in the Jindal administration for more than seven years. Prior to that she served as a paralegal to the Office of the Disciplinary Counsel and Kean Miller Law Firm.
