Patrick D. Murphy was born December 24, 1962, in South Bend, Indiana. One of ten children, he received a B.B.A. in accounting from the University of Notre Dame in 1985. Pat earned a J.D. from the Indiana University School of Law in 1988, where he served as an associate editor of the Indiana Law Review. He received an LL.M. from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1995.

Pat is listed in "The Best Lawyers in America" (2007, 2008) in the areas of Commercial Litigation and Labor and Employment Law. Pat also has been recognized as one of "Indiana's Top Lawyers" by Indiana Business Magazine (2007, 2008). Indianapolis Monthly magazine has repeatedly named Pat a "Super Lawyer" in the area of business litigation during its annual survey of the top 5% of lawyers in Indiana (2004, 2005, 2006, and 2008). Pat is rated "AV" (the highest available rating) by Martindale-Hubbell, the leading attorney peer-review rating service.

Pat limits his practice to civil litigation and has litigated cases in at least 12 different states, including NY, MS, LA, TX, AZ, MI, and IL. His practice focuses primarily on defending businesses in commercial and employment discrimination lawsuits.

Pat was formerly a partner of Barnes & Thornburg, working in the Litigation Department of its South Bend Office. He has been in the private practice of law in South Bend since 1991.

Pat has a special interest in federal practice and procedure. Following law school, Pat served a two-year federal clerkship in Indianapolis with the Honorable James E. Noland of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. He has lectured and written on federal practice, including "A Federal Practitioner's Guide to Supplemental Jurisdiction Under 28 U.S.C. § 1367," which is published at 78 Marquette L. Rev. 973 (1995). Since 1999, Pat has served on the Local Rules Advisory Committee for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.

Pat served as an officer in the JAG Corps of the United States Army Reserve and was honorably discharged in 1994. He has served as an adjunct professor at the Valparaiso University School of Law and as a Visiting Instructor at the University of Illinois College of Law. Pat and his wife, Tonia, have four children (Eileen, Maria, Emily, and Margaret) and reside in South Bend.

Trials:

Pat has tried well over a dozen cases and has also represented a wide variety of clients in administrative proceedings, arbitrations, and numerous mediations and judicial settlement conferences. Pat's trial work includes:

• Successfully defended automobile dealership in jury trial in Federal Court in age-discrimination action, resulting in directed verdict for defendant client.
• Successfully defended manufacturer of high-speed liquid filling machine in two-week jury trial in Federal Court in Chicago, which resulted in jury award of $8,288, where plaintiff's counsel requested damages of over $2 Million at trial.
• Obtained jury verdict in State Court, resulting in judgment of $810,000 after the addition of statutory damages, for Fortune 500 manufacturer of household appliances and against Lakeshore Wholesale, Inc., and its principals in action for conversion/theft of appliance parts from Indiana warehouse.
• Successfully defended supermarket chain in bench trial in State Court in action for alleged breach of contract, resulting in judgment for defendant client, where plaintiff sought damages in excess of $1.2 Million but received nothing.
• Obtained a jury verdict of $175,000 in Federal Court for plaintiff client and against Boise Cascade Corporation in employment dispute.
• Successfully defended architect/engineer in bench trial in State Court in action for alleged negligent design and construction of hotel, resulting in judgment for defendant client.

Appeals:

Since BMR was formed in 2001, Pat has written over 20 appellate briefs on behalf of appellees -- all of which were successful in upholding the decision of the lower trial or appellate court. Pat's reported decisions include:

• O'Brien v. 1st Source Bank, 868 N.E.2d 903 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007).
• Aaron v. Scott, 851 N.E.2d 309 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006).
• Rhodes v. Wright, 805 N.E.2d 382 (Ind. 2004).
• Title Search v. 1st Source Bank, 765 N.E.2d 167 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002).
• Hochstedler v. St. Joseph County Solid Waste Management District, 770 N.E.2d 910 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002).
• Beanstalk Group, Inc. v. A.M. General Corp., 283 F.3d 856 (7th Cir. 2002).
• Feltner v. Title Search Co., 283 F.3d 838 (7th Cir. 2002).
• Solon v. Gary Community School Corp., 180 F.3d 844 (7th Cir. 1999).
• Henning v. Amsted Industries, Inc., 56 F.3d 29 (7th Cir. 1995).
• Carbone v. Schwartz, 629 N.E.2d 1259 (Ind. Ct. App. 1994).
• Adams v. Clean Air Systems, Inc., 586 N.E.2d 940 (Ind. Ct. App. 1992).

Other Significant Professional Representations:

Since BMR was formed in 2001, Pat's significant professional representations have also included:

• Successfully defended appellate challenge to $1.8 Million jury verdict entered for client restaurant and against Indiana Insurance Company in bad-faith and breach-of-contract action.
• Secured settlement for client of $2.5 Million from Kemper Insurance and significant confidential settlements from One Beacon Insurance and Federal Insurance Company in coverage claims related to multi-million dollar negligence and contract claim against client by catalog fruit retailer Harry & David, resulting in global settlement of underlying lawsuit and all coverage disputes.
• Obtained summary judgment for defendant automobile dealership, and then successfully defended appellate challenge to same, in contract action where plaintiff sought damages of over $1 Million but received nothing.
• Obtained award of $198,500 for bank client in arbitration pending before the American Arbitration Association.
• Successfully defended the St. Joseph County Solid Waste Management District in an appeal presenting statutory and constitutional challenges to its mandatory recycling fees.
• Successfully argued before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on behalf of publicly-trade financial institution, resulting in published opinion upholding lower court's sanction of opposing party for violation of Federal Injunction.
• Obtained arbitration award of over $1.2 Million for client in arbitration involving other party's breach of contract.
• Obtained arbitration award of over $1.1 Million for client in arbitration involving other party's breach of contract.
• Obtained and collected $3.0 Million judgment for hospital client against governmental entity.
• Obtained summary judgment for over $1.5 Million for bank client in federal litigation regarding defendant's breach of aircraft loan.

Bar Admissions:

• All trial and appellate courts in Indiana
• United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
• United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana
• United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan

Professional Associations:

• Robert A. Grant Inn of Court (Secretary/Treasurer, 2003 to 2007)
• Red Mass Committee for the South Bend area for the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend (Member, 2003 to date)
• St. Joseph County Bar Association
• Indiana State Bar Association