Kathryn J. Murphy

Attorney Profile
Top Rated Family Law Attorney in Plano, TX
Plano, TX 75024
- Family Law
A partner of the firm, Kathryn Murphy has been named the Best Lawyers© Family Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Dallas, Woodward and White Press, 2015, 2017 and 2019. Only a single lawyer in each practice area within a community is honored with this distinction.
A highly goal-oriented family attorney, Kathryn is skilled in answering one of the most important concerns clients have about divorce: seeing an efficient, satisfactory end to the process. Kathryn initially helps clients establish their priorities, then outlines their options for achieving resolution. Drawing on her extensive trial experience as a family lawyer, Kathryn helps clients anticipate the likely impact of their decisions so they can choose wisely.
Clients value Kathryn’s thoroughness, especially in complex property and child custody cases. Her expertise includes cases involving the valuation of a business, closely held business interests, relocation, characterization of property, and premarital agreements. Kathryn embraces collaborative law when it is the right fit for clients, and she brings considerable skills to the courtroom when litigation is deemed necessary. Above all, Kathryn’s goal is to negotiate a topnotch settlement for her clients. She is known for establishing a close connection with her clients and working together with them as a team to support the best interests of them and their children.
Kathryn is Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. She is a member of the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists and a Fellow of the prestigious International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and the Texas Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, where she is a Past-President. She is a Past-President of the Family Law Council of the State Bar of Texas, a member of the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, American Bar Association, Dallas Bar Association, and Collin County Bar Association.
Kathryn was the recipient of the State Bar of Texas Dan Price Award in 2018. This award is presented to a lawyer who has had a significant impact on the Family Law Section – teaching, writing and advancing the practice of family law. She is also a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, where fellowship is extended by invitation only to those experienced trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality.
Kathryn co-authored West Publishing Company’s Texas Family Law Practice Guide, a three-volume family law treatise for attorneys that was published in March 2000 and supplemented each year. She is the primary researcher and writer of the book, Protecting Your Assets from a Texas Divorce, published in 2005. She has taught family law at Southeastern Paralegal Institute in Dallas, and she is a frequent author and speaker on family law issues.
Certificates and Credentials
Top Lists
- Top 50: 2020 Women Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2020 Dallas/Fort Worth Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2020 Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2019 Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 50: 2019 Women Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2019 Dallas/Fort Worth Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2018 Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 50: 2018 Women Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2018 Dallas/Fort Worth Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2017 Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 50: 2017 Women Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2017 Dallas/Fort Worth Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2016 Dallas/Fort Worth Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2016 Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 50: 2016 Women Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2015 Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 50: 2015 Women Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2015 Dallas/Fort Worth Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2014 Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 50: 2014 Women Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2014 Dallas/Fort Worth Super Lawyers
- Top 50: 2013 Women Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2013 Dallas/Fort Worth Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2013 Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 50: 2012 Women Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2012 Dallas/Fort Worth Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2011 Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 50: 2011 Women Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2011 Dallas/Fort Worth Super Lawyers
- Top 50: 2010 Women Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2009 Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 50: 2009 Women Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2009 Dallas/Fort Worth Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2008 Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 50: 2008 Women Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2008 Dallas/Fort Worth Super Lawyers
- Top 50: 2007 Women Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2007 Dallas/Fort Worth Super Lawyers
- Top 50: 2006 Women Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2006 Dallas/Fort Worth Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2006 Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2005 Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 50: 2005 Women Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2005 Dallas/Fort Worth Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2004 Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 50: 2004 Women Texas Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2004 Dallas/Fort Worth Super Lawyers
- Top 50: 2003 Women Texas Super Lawyers
About Kathryn Murphy
Admitted: 1989, Texas
Professional Webpage: https://www.gbafamilylaw.com/attorney/kathryn-j-murphy/
Honors/Awards:
- 2016, UT Tyler’s Distinguished Alumni award
- 2009, Best Personal Lawyers in Dallas: Family Law, D Magazine
- 2015, 2017 and 2019, Best Lawyers© Family Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Dallas, Woodward and White Press
- 2001, 2005- 2010, and 2017 - 2020, Best Lawyers in Dallas: Family Law, D Magazine
- 2003 - 2020, Inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© in the field of Family Law, Woodward and White Press
- 2013- awarded to an attorney who has significantly contributed to the profession and the community throughout their career., Serjeant of the Inn Award, Annette Stewart Inn of Court
- 2010, Best Women Lawyers in Dallas: Family Law, D Magazine
- 2004, Best Family Law CLE article, State Bar of Texas
Special Licenses/Certifications:
- Board Certified in Family Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization
Bar/Professional Activity:
- American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Fellow
- Elected Chair to the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, 2016
Scholarly Lectures/Writings:
- Innovations: Breaking Boundaries in Custody Litigation, State Bar of Texas, Panelist, Trial of a Custody Case, 2019
- Marriage Dissolution Institute, State Bar of Texas, Reimbursement, Fraud, Waste, and the Reconstituted Estate, 2019
- Collaborative Law: Avoid Breaking Bad When Breaking Up, State Bar of Texas, How to Draw Clients to the Collaborative Model and Keep them Satisfied, 2019
- Advanced Trial Skills for Family Lawyers, State Bar of Texas, Speaker, Drafting: Are Your Pleadings and Discovery Ready for Trial?, 2018
- New Frontiers in Marital Property Law, State Bar of Texas, Panelist, Marital Agreements, 2018
- Ask the Expert – Complex Property, D Magazine, 2017
- What's In Your Wallet? Property Case Law Update, Marriage Dissolution, State Bar Of Texas, 2017
- Characterization, Advanced Family Law Course, State Bar Of Texas, 2016
- Negotiation Techniques and Strategies, Advanced Family Law Course, State Bar Of Texas, 2015
- Judges Panel, Innovations- Breaking Boundaries in Child Custody Litigation, Innovations, State Bar Of Texas, 2015
- Author, Family Law at Your Fingertips, Family Law Section, State Bar of Texas, 2015
- How To Tell Your Children You Are Getting Divorced: 5 Tips, 2014
- Gay Couples Can’t Marry in Texas, But Can They Divorce There?, 2014
- The Great Recession And Its Impact On Divorce, 2014
- The Gray Divorce: Baby Boomers Are Ending Marriages Later in Life, 2014
- The Financial Implications Of Divorce In Texas, 2014
- Business Valuations in Divorce, 2014
- The Kids Are All Right: Be Prepared and Protect Children’s Best Interest, 2014
- Advanced Family Law Course, State Bar of Texas, Negotiation Techniques and Strategies, 2014
- Southern Methodist University School of Law, Protective Orders and Family Violence, 2014
- The University of Texas School of Law, Experts, Examination and Ethics- A Guide to Mental Health Experts, Innovations- Breaking Boundaries in Child Custody Litigation , 2014
- Using a Computer Forensic Expert, 2012
- Characterization of Property, 2011
- Premarital and Postmarital Agreements, 2009
- Co-Author, Protecting Children From Incompetent Forensic Evaluations and Expert Testimony, Journal of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers , 2006
- Author, Protecting Your Assets from a Texas Divorce, Professional Solutions Group, 2005
- supplemented each year to the present, Co-Author, Texas Family Law Practice Guide, West Publishing Company, 2000
- Parental Relocation
Videos:
- How to Determine the Value of Your Assets , 2016
- , Do I Need a Premarital Agreement in Texas?, 2019
- Kathryn Murphy, Family Law and Divorce Attorney in Plano, Texas , 2015
- How to Identify Assets in a Divorce , 2016
- What is Separate and Community Property? , 2016
- How a Court Reaches a Decision When Dividing Assets , 2016
Educational Background:
- University of Texas, B.A., with Honors, English Honors: Distinguished Student Award Speech Performance Tuition Award President’s Honor Roll Academic Tuition Scholarship, 1986
Additional Sources of Information About Kathryn J. Murphy
Kathryn J. Murphy:
Last Updated: 12/27/2020