Who We Are / Partners
James M. Murphy
He/him/his
jmurphy@spivaklipton.com
Tel: (212) 765-2100 ext. 14
Fax: (212) 765-8954
Partner James (Jim) M. Murphy advises the firm’s union clients. He serves as the General Counsel for the New York City and Vicinity District Council of Carpenters - the largest construction union in the NYC metro area - regularly representing them in litigation and negotiations and advising them on a myriad of legal issues. Jim also has extensive experience in counseling clients during regulatory investigations with various state and federal agencies and representing clients as creditors in bankruptcy proceedings. He has won significantly large arbitration awards on behalf of his clients.
Prior to attending law school, Jim was a rank-and-file union activist, organizer, staff representative, and elected officer involved in the organizing of multiple unions in the higher education, healthcare, and telecommunications industries. He has a significant work history with the labor movement and was directly involved as an appointed and elected organizer of Health and Hospital Workers District 1199 during the late 1970s to the mid-1980s as an activist in internal union struggles that culminated with the victory of the leadership that leads that union today. He thinks in the practical terms of a union organizer and has significant insight to offer his clients about the nuts and bolts of organizing working people who want to form a union as well as union governance, internal union elections, and dealing with disputes and negotiations with employers.
Jim joined Spivak Lipton in 1992 and became a partner in 2000. He is a member of the firm’s professional liability and cybersecurity committees. Known for his ability to apply the knowledge gained from experiences to new situations, he believes in getting down and dirty into the weeds of an issue. His extensive knowledge of unions and unvarnished truth telling have earned him the respect of his clients and colleagues.
Jim volunteers his time phone banking for political organizations and doing advisory committee work for NYU School of Law’s Center for Labor and Employment Law. He continues to have faith in the labor movement and is proud to be a part of both its history and its future.
Admissions:
State of New York
U.S. District Court, New York, Southern District
U.S. District Court, New York, Eastern District
U. S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
Education
New York University School of Law, J.D.
University of Pittsburgh, M.A., Sociology
LaSalle College, B.A. Economics and Sociology, cum laude
Speaking Engagements
Panel and Moderator, Annual Conference on Labor and Employment Law at NYU
Professional Activities
Union Lawyers Alliance, AFL-CIO
Admissions Committee member and Advisory Board member, Center for Labor and Employment Law, New York University School of Law
