Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2014 
Stephen J. Murphy joined Block O’Toole & Murphy as a personal injury trial attorney after a successful career as a homicide prosecutor for the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office. Now a managing partner at the firm, Mr. Murphy handles a wide variety of personal injury cases, primarily focusing on serious construction accidents, motor vehicle accidents, and other catastrophic personal injury cases. To date, Mr. Murphy has returned some of New York’s most significant results, prompting The New York Times to describe him as one of the “Top Attorneys in New York.”
Best known for his work in the courtroom, Mr. Murphy has secured nearly $1 billion in results for clients through verdicts and settlements. This includes a record-breaking $32 million jury verdict in Suffolk County, a $9.95 million settlement for a pedestrian who lost her leg, and a $9.5 million settlement in a Labor Law ladder fall case. In 2021, VerdictSearch reported that Mr. Murphy was the lead attorney on the top three construction accident settlements in the entire Northeast. In 2020, he obtained three of VerdictSearch’s Top 50 Personal Injury Settlements in the entire United States.
In recognition of his tenacious advocacy for clients, Mr. Murphy has earned multiple accolades from both his peers and opponents. He has been selected to Best Lawyers’® Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs list since 2014, and in 2022, the organization named him the New York City Lawyer of the Year for the same practice area. Mr. Murphy has also been recognized by Forbes Magazine as one of the Top 15 Personal Injury Lawyers in New York City and by Super Lawyers as one of the Top 100 attorneys across all practice areas in the city.
Mr. Murphy is a respected authority on the law, and members of the bar from Brooklyn to Buffalo frequently consult with him on trial matters. He is a member of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association’s (NYSTLA’s) Labor Law Committee, and he previously served on the organization’s Board of Directors. Mr. Murphy has appeared as a guest host and commentator on civil and criminal cases for various media outlets, including The New York Times, CNN, Fox Radio, New York Daily News, and the New York Law Journal.
Mr. Murphy served as an Adjunct Professor of Law with St. John's University School of Law for many years. During his tenure as instructor of the trial advocacy program, his students won national championships in trial competitions five times.
Prior to joining Block O'Toole & Murphy, Mr. Murphy was appointed to the Homicide Bureau in the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office, making him the youngest attorney there at the time. He earned a reputation as a tough but fair prosecutor, successfully handling several high-profile cases, including double and triple murders, arson homicides, and child murders.
Outside of the office, Mr. Murphy volunteers for various charities and fundraisers. He is a longtime member of the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital fundraising team, and he has helped raise over $10,000,000 for the hospital through the firm’s New York City Wine Tasting event. He is also a proud supporter of the Frances Pope Memorial Foundation and the Brooklyn to Alaska Project
