Christopher M. Murphy is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP and is based in the Firm's Chicago office. He focuses his practice in the areas of class actions and complex commercial litigation. He heads the Firm's Class Action group.
Chris has substantial experience defending clients in class action and multi-party lawsuits in state and federal courts, including consumer fraud, securities and RICO class actions. He has obtained dismissals of class allegations and defeated motions for class certification in both state and federal courts. He has also successfully argued appeals of class action decisions in state and federal appellate courts.
Chris also represents clients in multi-district litigation, and he has argued before the Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation. He also has defended clients in multi-state Attorney General investigations and actions. He is an active lecturer on class actions and complex litigation and has been honored as an Illinois Super Lawyer in class actions. He is also recognized by The Legal 500 United States as one of the leading lawyers in his field.
Chris has extensive experience representing public companies and their officers and directors in shareholder class actions and derivative actions. He has obtained early dismissals of both class and derivative actions, and he has successfully argued the appeals of those dismissals.
Chris also has extensive experience in the field of legal ethics. He has been a member of the Firm's Professional Responsibility Committee since 1993 and frequently lectures on conflicts of interest and other issues of legal ethics.
Chris belongs to the American and the Chicago bar associations. He is also a member of the bars of the State of Illinois and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (trial bar). He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh, Eighth and Eleventh Circuits and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Education
- University of Chicago Law School, J.D., 1990
- Georgetown University, B.S. (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa), 1987
