William Murphy

William H. "Billy" Murphy, Jr. is the senior and founding partner of Murphy Falcon & Murphy and one of Baltimore's most recognized trial lawyers. He entered the University of Maryland School of Law in 1966 after studying engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and went on to found the firm with Richard Falcon in 1971. After building a substantial litigation practice, he served as a Circuit Court judge for Baltimore City from 1980 to 1983 before returning to private practice. Judge Murphy carries a 90% success rate in Maryland state court cases and a 40% success rate in federal matters, four times the national average. His notable victories include a full dismissal of all nine wire fraud counts against boxing promoter Don King, a $54 million settlement for Maryland homeowners whose wells were contaminated by Constellation Energy's coal ash operations, and a $34.33 million award for 23 victims of carbon monoxide poisoning at an Inner Harbor restaurant. He has been named one of the top five lawyers in Maryland by the Baltimore Sun and was recognized with the Charles Hamilton Houston Award for Lifetime Achievement in Litigation in 2004.