Stephen J. Murphy

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. Best known for his work in the courtroom, 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.

A partner at the firm since 2008, Mr. Murphy has amassed an extremely impressive record of results, regularly returning verdicts and settlements over a million dollars. In his years of civil practice, he has garnered over $500,000,000 in results for clients, with an average of over $40,000,000 in settlements every year since 2013. In 2021, he was the lead attorney on the top three construction accident settlements in the entire Northeast, as reported in VerdictSearch’s Top Verdicts and Settlements. In recognition of Mr. Murphy’s commitment to his clients, Best Lawyers® named him the New York City Lawyer of the Year in Personal Injury – Plaintiffs for 2022.

Described as one of the "Top Attorneys in New York” by The New York Times, Mr. Murphy has earned multiple accolades from both his peers and opponents. He is recognized by various notable legal organizations including Best Lawyers®, Super Lawyers, National Trial Lawyers, the Irish Legal 100, and the Brehon Law Society. He has also 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 Court TV. Mr. Murphy’s expert analysis has also been published in the New York Law Journal, as part of a construction accident law column that he co-authored with colleague David L. Scher.

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.

In addition to his trial work, Mr. Murphy served as an Adjunct Professor of Law with St. John's University School of Law for nine years. During his tenure as instructor of the trial advocacy program, his students won national championships in trial competitions five times. Mr. Murphy also currently serves as a member of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association's (NYSTLA) Labor Law Committee, a group devoted to protecting the rights of New York’s construction workers.

Outside of the office, Mr. Murphy volunteers for various charities and fundraisers. One that is very dear to his heart is St. Jude Children’s Hospital, where he serves as an active member of the fundraising team. For over ten years, Mr. Murphy and fellow BOM partners have hosted an annual New York City Wine Tasting in support of St. Jude, bringing together local restaurants and vendors to help raise funds for the research of childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. To date, the event has raised over $10,000,000 for the hospital, and in 2019, Mr. Murphy was awarded the “Chairperson of the Year” award by St. Jude for his efforts.