Stephen J. Murphy
Stephen J. Murphy joined Block O’Toole & Murphy after a successful career as a homicide prosecutor for the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office. Best known for his work in the courtroom, Mr. Murphy now focuses on a wide variety of cases ranging from labor law and construction accidents to auto accidents, garnering over $350,000,000 in results for clients.
As a partner at the New York City law firm, Mr. Murphy already has an extremely impressive body of work, regularly returning verdicts and settlements in excess of a million dollars. Since 2013, he has averaged well over $40,000,000 in settlements every year. In 2016, he was the lead attorney for three of the top five settlements in the entire state of New York.
Prior to his career at BOM, Mr. Murphy was appointed by the District Attorney to the Homicide Bureau, making him the youngest member of Brooklyn’s Homicide Bureau at the time. He earned a reputation as a tough but fair prosecutor, successfully handling several high-profile cases including double and triple murders, arson homicides, gang murders, and brutal murders of innocent children. In addition to his trial work, Mr. Murphy served as an Adjunct Professor of Law with St. John's School of Law for eight years, teaching students the art of trial advocacy. Under their trial advocacy program, his students won national championships in trial competitions five of the eight years he was involved.
Described as one of the "Top Attorneys in New York” by The New York Times, Mr. Murphy has earned multiple accolades from his both peers and opponents. He is recognized by notable legal organizations, which include Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers in America, National Trial Lawyers, Irish Legal 100, and Brehon Law Society. He has also appeared as a guest host and commentator on civil and criminal cases for many local and national media outlets, including Court TV, Fox Radio, The New York Post, New York Daily News, and Newsday. In addition, Mr. Murphy has been published in The New York Law Journal for a series of columns that he co-authored with colleague David Scher concerning construction accident law.
Outside of the office, Mr. Murphy volunteers his time for various charities and fundraisers. One that is very dear to his heart is the St. Jude Children’s Hospital, where he serves as an active member of the fundraising team, raising over $5,000,000 for the organization. For over ten years, Mr. Murphy, along with the other partners at Block O’Toole & Murphy, hosted an annual Autumn Wine Tasting in support of St. Jude, bringing together local restaurants and vendors to help raise funds for the research of childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
- Frances Pope Memorial Foundation, 2010 Man of the Year
- "Best Lawyers in America' List, 2014
- Super Lawyer, New York Metro Area, 2011-2013
- Irish Legal 100, 2013
- National Trial Lawyer, Top 100 Trial Lawyers List, 2011-2014
- Million Dollar and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum
- Brooklyn to Alaska Project, 2017 Man of the Year
- St. John's University School of Law PTAI 2014 'Alumni Excellence' Award
- Brehon Law Society, 2015 Honoree
New York, New York 10119
