Michael L. Murphy

A no-nonsense litigator, partner Michael L. Murphy represents clients in high-stakes class actions, complex commercial disputes, whistleblower matters, parens patriae cases, antitrust litigation, First Amendment disputes, and bankruptcy proceedings in courts across the country.

Nationally recognized for his work, Michael has been ranked for several years by Chambers & Partners in its Washington, D.C. “Litigation: Mainly Plaintiffs” category and was named to the 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers guide.

Michael’s leadership in complex litigation is reflected in his appointments to committees and steering committees in major class actions nationwide — including cases against BlueCross BlueShield and Comcast. He has also pursued cases against the NFL, the NBA, NBC, Nissan, the Harlem Globetrotters, and the major oil companies.

Recent highlights of Michael’s work include:

• Securing landmark privacy victories — including before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit — defending consumers’ rights under the federal Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA).
• Helping obtain the largest antitrust settlement in U.S. healthcare history: a $2.8 billion resolution in the BlueCross BlueShield MDL, where he served on the plaintiffs’ discovery committee.
• Securing well over $100 million from major oil companies as part of a consortium of law firms that directly represents a number of Democratic and Republican Governors and State Attorneys General on behalf of Underground Storage Tank Funds in efforts to recoup improper overpayments.
• Serving on the trial team that won a $32.7 million verdict (later adjusted but largely reinstated on appeal) for Ramaco Resources Inc. against Chubb-related insurers in a coverage dispute.

In 2024, Michael took a partial leave from Bailey Glasser to serve as Interim Executive Director of the Drum Major Institute (DMI), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit grounded in the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and run by his namesake, Martin Luther King III and his wife, Arndrea Waters King.  Prior to that role, he served for four years as DMI’s pro bono counsel. In that role, among other things, he negotiated an MOU to work jointly with Mi Familia Vota.

Pro bono service is a hallmark of Michael’s practice. In a case that has stretched from 2015 to the present, He represents Two Rivers Public Charter School in a closely-watched case that involved anti-abortion protesters’ efforts to target the school’s elementary and middle school campuses in an effort to get Planned Parenthood to halt construction of its neighboring facility.

Michael also assisted in the formation of the Quicksilver Productions Foundation which runs a music series through The Hill Center on Capitol Hill in southeast D.C. for the goal of “building community through music, education and conversation.” During the pandemic, he conducted several seminars advising local businesses about the Paycheck Protection Program and the Save Our Stages Act. 

Michael is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, New York, Washington, and West Virginia, along with multiple federal district and appellate courts. He earned his J.D., cum laude, from Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, where he served on Law Review and won the John H. Fanning Labor Law Writing Competition. He also holds an M.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a B.S. from California State University-Fresno.

Outside the courtroom, Michael enjoys bouldering, biking, live music, and hosting living room concerts with nationally touring artists in his Capitol Hill home. He and his wife of nearly 30 years have two college-age children and two rescue dogs, Gizmo and Buddy.

Awards & Accolades

Chambers USA, District of Columbia - Band One; Litigation: Mainly Plaintiffs (2022-2024)

2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers

Government Service / Previous Employment

• Judicial Extern, Hon. Paul L. Friedman, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (2001 - 2002)
• Research Analyst; Staff Director, International Brotherhood of Teamsters (1993 - 1999)

Case Studies

Representative Matters

• Served on the committee that obtained the largest antitrust settlement in U.S. healthcare history in the amount of $2.8 billion in the Blue Cross Blue Shield MDL, a long-running antitrust lawsuit representing healthcare providers nationwide. 
• Member of the trial team that obtained a verdict on behalf of Ramaco Resources Inc. of approximately $32.7 million against Chubb-related insurance companies for breach of contract in a denial of insurance coverage case. The trial court subsequently reduced the verdict, but it was substantially reinstated by the Court of Appeals.

• Serves on the management committee for a consortium of law firms representing a number of Governors, State Attorneys General, and Underground Storage Tank Funds in ongoing investigations, mediations, and litigations against the major oil companies in efforts to recoup improper overpayments obtained by the oil companies; through these efforts return more than $100 million to the various states
• Served as pro bono counsel for the Two Rivers Public Charter School after it was targeted by protesters upset the school happened to be located next door to a Planned Parenthood facility that was under construction; defeated the multiple defendants’ motions to dismiss as well as their Anti-SLAPP motions; currently on appeal and pending before the District of Columbia Court of Appeals
• Represented individual and institutional investors related to auction rate securities and other investment vehicles as a member of PIABA
• Represented the BSA | The Software Alliance, an association of leading software manufacturers including Apple, Adobe Systems, and Microsoft, in investigating and prosecuting software piracy and copyright infringement matters

News & Insights

Community and Professional Activities

American Association for Justice

Public Justice

Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association

Webinars

How the American Rescue Plan Will Impact the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG)