[4] In 1982, Phillips was appointed a Recorder and from 1987 was a full-time High Court Judge on the Queen's Bench Division, with the customary knighthood.

[3] On 12 January 1999, he was appointed a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary[6] and created a Life Peer under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 as Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers, of Belsize Park in the London Borough of Camden.

[3] Since 2008, Phillips was the Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary until he became the first president of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on 1 October 2009.

[3] Queen Elizabeth II elevated him as a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter on 23 April 2011.

[13][3] On 30 September 2024, Lord Phillips announced that he will step down as a non-permanent judge of Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal after the end of his term on that day, due to personal reasons.

[3] He was also appointed the inaugural Distinguished Fellow and visiting professor of The Dickson Poon School of Law, King's College London.

[3] Phillips served as Chancellor of Bournemouth University from 2009 until 2018, being succeeded by broadcaster and author Kate Adie.