Kevin P. Murphy
Attorney Profile
Top Rated Employment Litigation Attorney in Charlotte, NC
- Employment Litigation: Plaintiff (50%),
- Employment & Labor: Employee (50%)
Kevin began his private practice career at the nation’s leading management-side labor and employment firm. Back then, Kevin represented the nation’s largest employers in discrimination, retaliation, harassment, wage and hour, labor, and non-competition litigation, in both class actions and individual cases. Kevin took several of these cases to trial before federal and state courts, secured the dismissal of others through motion practice, successfully resolved many others through formal and informal mediation, and represented employers in federal and state agency investigations.
Kevin also advised large, midsize and small businesses on a variety of employment-related matters, including the enforceability of non-competition agreements, and drafted effective policies aimed at avoiding litigation and creating a healthy and supportive culture within these businesses.
In 2016, Kevin left his career as a management-side attorney to represent individuals because people deserve the same quality of representation enjoyed by Fortune 500 companies.
Kevin now represents individuals in all types of employment disputes, including discrimination, retaliation, whistleblower actions, severance negotiations, equal pay violations, sexual harassment and assault, non-compete contracts, labor rights, wage and hour violations, leaves of absence, workplace safety, and executive compensation matters.
Kevin has won trial victories for clients in federal jury trials, state court trials, and arbitration. Kevin has fought employers who discriminated against clients based on their race, gender, age, disability, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, and military service. Kevin has fought back against retaliation based on our clients’ reports of unsafe working conditions, nuclear safety threats, and illegal overtime and wage practices. Kevin represents victims of sexual harassment and sexual assault at work. Kevin also regularly defends individuals accused of violating overbearing non-competition agreements or trade secrets laws. Kevin represents whistleblowers in actions filed on behalf of the government against companies guilty of fraud.
Kevin serves as the Chair of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice’s Employment Law Section and has been named to the 2018 Super Lawyers’ Rising Stars list.
Kevin also serves as a Site Chair for the North Carolina Bar Association’s 4All Service Day. Kevin handles pro bono matters for North Carolina Legal Aid and for the Western District of North Carolina’s Pro Se Settlement Assistant Program.
Kevin is a frequent lecturer on employment law topics, including at the annual conference of labor and employment attorneys from both North and South Carolina where Kevin spoke on “Ethical Issues in Employment Practice” and the annual conference of plaintiffs lawyers in North Carolina where he lectured on employment law. Kevin has also presented at the Mecklenburg County Bar’s seminar for attorneys entitled, “What is the Public’s Policy? Wrongful Discharge after HB2,” as both the organizer and a speaker.
Before his career in private practice, Kevin served as a law clerk for the Hon. Robert J. Conrad, then Chief United States District Judge for the Western District of North Carolina in Charlotte and as a law clerk for the Hon. B. Avant Edenfield, United States District Judge for the Southern District of Georgia in Savannah, Georgia.
Kevin graduated magna cum laude from the University of Georgia School of Law, where he was published as a member of the Georgia Law Review, decorated as a member of several award-winning moot court teams, and recognized by his peers with the Matlock Award for the attorney they would want representing them if ever in need. Kevin graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Economics and International Studies, where he led the undergraduate mock trial program, founded an annual mock trial tournament, and interned with the Global Education Center.
Kevin is a member of St. Peter Catholic Church and serves as a volunteer with St. Matthew Catholic Church’s Mel’s Diner ministry, which has been feeding the hungry since 2001. Kevin also volunteers his time with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ Lunch with a Lawyer program.
Kevin is barred in North Carolina and admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, the Middle District of North Carolina, and the Eastern District of North Carolina. Kevin is also admitted to practice before the United Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and all courts in North Carolina.
- 50%Employment Litigation: Plaintiff
- 50%Employment & Labor: Employee
Employment Discrimination, Wrongful Termination, Retaliation, Employment Law - Employer, Employment Law - Employee, Unions, Wage & Hour Laws, Whistleblower, Sexual Harassment, Labor Law
Selections
Rising Stars: 2018 - 2021
To: Kevin P. Murphy
Super Lawyers: Potential Client Inquiry
Additional Sources of Information About Kevin P. Murphy
About Kevin Murphy
Admitted: 2010, North Carolina
Professional Webpage: https://herrmannmurphy.com/attorneys/kevin-murphy/
Honors/Awards:
- Client’s Choice Award for 2018 from AVVO.*
- Since 2002, Business North Carolina magazine has honored Tar Heel lawyers by publishing Business North Carolina’s Legal Elite, a listing of the state’s top lawyers in business-related categories. Winners are chosen not by BNC editors but by the state’s lawyers. Business North Carolina’s Legal Elite has become the model for other awards and lists, but it remains unique as the only award that gives every active lawyer in the state the opportunity to participate. Business North Carolina’s Legal Elite includes the top lawyers chosen using this statewide ballot., Business North Carolina Legal Elite, Employment Law, Business North Carolina, 2019
- Avvo Rating of 10.0—the highest rating available from AVVO
- Order of the Coif, UGA Law, 2010
- Awarded by the student body to the attorney whom students would want representing them if ever in need, Matlock Award, University of Georgia, 2010
- CALI Awards in Constitutional Law, Evidence & Criminal Procedure, CALI, UGA Law, 2010
- Won quarterly pro bono award for pro bono Commitment, Pro Bono Attorney of the Quarter, Littler Mendelson, P.C., 2015
Bar/Professional Activity:
- North Carolina Advocates for Justice, Board of Governors, 2020
- Mecklenburg Bar Association, Pro Bono & Legal Recruitment Committee Member, 2015
- North Carolina Advocates for Justice, Chair of Employment Section, 2018
- North Carolina Advocates for Justice, Employment Section, Secretary, 2017
- Mecklenburg Bar Association, Pro Bono & Legal Recruitment Committee Member, 2016
- Mecklenburg Bar Association, Pro Bono & Legal Recruitment Committee Member, 2014
- North Carolina Bar Association, 4All Service Day Committee, 2017
Pro bono/Community Service:
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Lunch with a Lawyer Volunteer, 2014
- N.C. Legal Aid, Lawyer on the Line Volunteer, 2017
- North Carolina Legal Aid, Lawyer-on-the-Line Volunteer, 2014
- Mecklenburg County Bar Association, Pro Bono & Legal Recruitment Committee
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Lunch with a Lawyer Volunteer, 2015
- Mel’s Diner Food Kitchen, Volunteer Driver, 2016
- WDNC, Criminal Justice Act Transitional Panel, Volunteer Attorney, 2015
- St. Matthew Catholic Church
- North Carolina Legal Aid, Lawyer-on-the-Line Volunteer, 2015
- NCBA Call 4 All Volunteer Attorney, 2015
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Lunch with a Lawyer Volunteer, 2017
- Mel’s Diner Food Kitchen, Volunteer Driver, 2017
- Mel’s Diner Food Kitchen, Volunteer Driver, 2014
- WDNC, Pro Se Mediation Program, Volunteer Attorney, 2016
- North Carolina Legal Aid, Lawyer-on-the-Line Volunteer, 2016
- NCBA Call 4 All Volunteer Attorney, 2017
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Lunch with a Lawyer Volunteer, 2016
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Lawyers for Literacy Mentor, 2015
- Mel’s Diner Food Kitchen, Volunteer Driver, 2015
- WDNC, Pro Se Mediation Program, Volunteer Attorney, 2017
Scholarly Lectures/Writings:
- Author, Alive But Not Well: Manifest Disregard After Hall Street, 2009
- Member, Georgia Law Review, University Of Georgia School Of Law
- What is the Public's Policy? Wrongful Discharge after HB2, Organizer & Speaker, Mecklenburg County Bar, 2017
- Speaker, Noncompetes & Trade Secret Protection: An In-House Counsel's Guide to A Big Year of Change, Littler Mendelson, P.C., 2015
- Speaker, Hiring & Firing: HR Strategies to Avoid Legal Mistakes, National Business Institute, 2014
- W.D.N.C. Pro Se Settlement Assistance Program, Presenter, Mecklenburg County Bar, 2017
- Spoke on ethical issues in an employment practice at the 33rd Annual NC/SC Labor and Employment Law Conference., Speaker, Ethical Issues in Employment Practice, North Carolina/South Carolina Employment Law Conference, North Carolina Bar Association, 2017
Verdicts/Settlements:
- $772,275 jury verdict on claims for sexual assault, battery, and false imprisonment. Even after the District Attorney dismissed criminal charges against our client’s former boss, we were able to prove to the jury that the defendant was lying and that he committed these grave wrongs. The jury’s verdict included a substantial punitive damages award intended to punish the defendant for his egregious conduct., 2020
- $750,000 Jury Verdict in the U.S District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. The Defendant was found liable for wrongful termination, violation of the Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act, Battery, and Negligent Supervision and Retention. Because each case is different prior results should not create an expectation about future results in an individual case. The outcome of a particular case cannot be predicated upon a lawyer's or a law firm's past results., 2018
Other Outstanding Achievements:
- Won federal court trial of retaliation and wrongful discharge claims., 2018
- Won arbitration of federal discrimination claims and obtained judgment on award in federal court., 2017
Educational Background:
- University of Georgia School of Law, JD, 2010
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. B.A. Economics & International Studies, Honors: undergraduate mock trial program, 2007
Industry Groups
- North Carolina Advocates For Justice
Kevin P. Murphy:
Last Updated: 9/11/2020