After graduating from the University of New Mexico of Law in 1982, Philip C. Gaddy began practicing criminal defense law with renowned New Mexico attorney Leon Taylor. As the years passed, Phil and Leon's practice grew in size and expanded to include the representation of plaintiffs in personal injury and civil litigation matters.

In 1990, Phil, Dan Rakes and Brad Hall left the Taylor firm to start, Gaddy, Rakes and Hall, a firm that would focus exclusively on the representation of plaintiffs in personal injury and civil litigation matters. Over the last decade, Phil's practice and caseload developed to include products liability and class action litigation. As time passed and practice interests changed, Dan Rakes and Brad Hall decided to leave the firm to pursue their own interests.