Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. (Ogletree Deakins), one of the largest labor and employment law firms representing management, is pleased to welcome James J. Murphy as a shareholder in the firm’s Washington office. Murphy joins Ogletree Deakins from General Dynamics, where he spent the last 10 years as the company’s chief labor and employment counsel. He will serve as co-chair of Ogletree Deakins’ Defense Contracting Industry Group.
Murphy has practiced labor and employment law for more than 20 years, including positions at both Northrop Grumman Corporation and General Dynamics as well as at a major international law firm in Washington, D.C. While chief labor and employment counsel at General Dynamics, a Fortune 100 company with more than 90,000 employees worldwide, Murphy provided legal counsel to HR executives and business leaders concerning policies, initiatives, and strategies relating to human resources practices, labor relations, employee benefits, data privacy, and compliance with federal ethics laws. He regularly handled matters related to executive employment agreements, benefits and wellness programs, workforce restructuring, collective bargaining obligations, affirmative action and diversity, and litigation and arbitration of employment disputes. At both General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman, Murphy also held significant responsibility for international employment issues, including expatriate assignments, European works councils, and international data privacy compliance.
Murphy also has experience advising employers on issues arising under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and anti‐discrimination laws. He has defended employers in employment litigation and arbitrations, including single‐plaintiff discrimination cases and wage‐hour class and collective actions, as well as in NLRB representation hearings and unfair labor practice proceedings. Murphy is a frequent panelist and speaker at conferences of HR professionals and management counsel and formerly served as an Advisory Board Member for ACC Docket magazine.
“Jim is a straightforward and practical advisor with extensive experience both in-house and in private practice,” said Margo Lopez, managing shareholder of the Ogletree Deakins’ Washington office. “After more than a decade of serving in senior in-house counsel roles at two of the world’s largest defense contractors, Jim has firsthand knowledge of the complex labor and employment issues in-house counsel face and deep insight into the unique business and compliance challenges that confront government contractors.”
Murphy is a member of the American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law, American Employment Law Council, and Association of Corporate Counsel. He earned his J.D., cum laude, from Catholic University of America School of Law and received his bachelor’s degree from the College of the Holy Cross.
