James Murphy

Jim Murphy has been a management-side labor and employment lawyer for over 20 years, providing advice and representation to management clients and HR professionals in the defense, shipbuilding, technology, automotive, and entertainment industries. As a former corporate counsel, Jim worked side-by-side with business leaders for many years and understands the importance of delivering solutions that are practical and workable.

Jim’s practice focuses on collective bargaining, wage and hour matters, workforce restructuring, and the representation of clients before the National Labor Relations Board, the EEOC, and the U.S. Department of Labor. Jim advises management clients on an array of issues, including executive separations, retention and non-compete agreements, union organizing, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, and compliance with myriad federal and state employment laws. Jim has extensive experience helping clients with issues involving employee misclassification and contingent workforce matters. He also has deep familiarity with the unique employment issues affecting government contractors and is Co-Chair of the firm’s Defense Contracting Industry practice group.

Prior to joining Ogletree Deakins, Jim was the chief labor and employment counsel for General Dynamics Corporation and a division labor and employment counsel at Northrop Grumman Corporation. He began his career as a labor and employment lawyer in the Washington office of an international law firm, where he advised and represented clients in collective bargaining, Department of Labor investigations, NLRB hearings, union organizing campaigns, labor arbitrations, and wage and hour litigation.

Jim is a frequent speaker and panelist at conferences for in-house counsel and human resources professionals.