Andrew S. Murphy

Summary

A member of Taft’s Employment and Labor Relations, Litigation, and Appellate groups, Andrew represents clients in a wide variety of complex legal disputes in all stages of litigation in state and federal courts.

Andrew has successfully represented employers against claims of wage and hour violations, discrimination, and other disputes brought by former employees. Andrew has also successfully represented competitors in disputes involving alleged violations of non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, trade secrets theft, and unfair competition. In addition, Andrew has also successfully litigated data privacy and information security cases, including defending class actions brought under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.

Particularly noteworthy among Andrew’s litigation successes was the key role he played in helping free Taft’s pro bono client Walter Hill from jail after seven years of wrongful incarceration for an aggravated kidnapping and murder he could not have committed. The Illinois Appellate Court—First District appointed Andrew and another Taft lawyer to represent Mr. Hill in the direct appeal from the jury’s guilty verdicts at Mr. Hill’s first trial. Andrew successfully argued the appeal, earning Mr. Hill a remand for new trial based on an evidentiary error. Andrew and a third Taft lawyer then represented Mr. Hill at his second trial, demonstrating to the jury during a four-day trial that Mr. Hill could not have been anywhere near the scene of the murder when it occurred. The jury returned a not guilty verdict on all counts in just three hours. Andrew was awarded Taft’s 2023 Pro Bono Award in recognition of this outstanding result.

Andrew’s practice is informed by his extensive experience clerking for federal judges at both the trial and appellate levels. Prior to joining Taft, Andrew served as a chambers clerk for a judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas and then as a staff law clerk for the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. In the latter capacity, Andrew worked directly with every Seventh Circuit judge who was on the bench from 2015 to 2018 — including former Judge Richard A. Posner and now-Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

In his spare time, Andrew serves on the board of the Mystick Krewe of Laff, a non-profit organization that seeks to educate Chicagoans about the culture of Southern Louisiana while raising funds and donations for other non-profit organizations based in Chicago and in New Orleans.

Awards

All Service Areas

All Practices

Education

  • Indiana University Maurer School of Law (2013)

    magna cum laude
    Articles editor, Indiana Law Journal

  • University of Texas of the Permian Basin (2009)

    summa cum laude

Admissions

  • State - Illinois
  • State - Texas
  • Federal - 7th Circuit Court of Appeals
  • Federal - 6th Circuit Court of Appeals
  • Federal - Northern District of Illinois
  • Federal - Central District of Illinois
  • Federal - Northern District of Indiana
  • Federal - Southern District of Indiana
  • Federal - Western District of Texas

Notable Matters

  • Obtained summary judgment on Rehabilitation Act and FMLA claims brought against university employer.
  • Obtained court approval of favorable class action settlement resolving privacy claims related to a retailer’s Virtual Try-On application.
  • Obtained court approval of favorable collective action settlement resolving claims brought by industrial workers under the FLSA.
  • Obtained court approval of favorable settlement resolving Illinois Wage Act claims brought by truck drivers in putative class action.
  • Obtained voluntary dismissal of putative collective action alleging FLSA and Indiana Wage Payment Statute claims related to manufacturing employer’s timekeeping policies.
  • Obtained voluntary dismissal of putative class action brought against a retailer based on its alleged use of facial recognition software.
  • Obtained involuntary dismissal with prejudice of tortious interference claims brought against a new employer by the new employee’s old employer.
  • Second chaired a four-day arbitration trial on breach of contract and whistleblower claims brought by a former employee, and obtained a total victory for the employer.

Speeches and Publications

  • Speaker, “The Shifting Legal Tide Against Using Noncompetes in the Workplace,” Illinois Manufacturers’ Association Live Webinar, July 20, 2023.

News

Upcoming Events

Past Events

Professional Affiliations

  • Chicago Bar Association

    Member

  • Illinois State Bar Association

    Member

  • Appellate Lawyers Association

    Member

  • Seventh Circuit Bar Association

    Member

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