Liam Murphy is the Founding Partner of Murphy’s Law: a crypto law firm built for the 21st century.
Before starting his first-of-its kind crypto-only litigation practice, Liam worked as a Litigation Associate at three NYC law firms, honing his expertise by litigating billion-dollar cases, crafting complaints against crypto fraudsters, and defending executives and politicians against government enforcement actions. At the international big law firm, Paul Hastings, Liam aided three white-collar defense acquittals and defended DeFi and NFT companies from government scrutiny. At the boutique litigation firm founded by leading Quinn Emanuel partners, Selendy Gay, Liam drafted complaints against crypto fraudsters including Terraform Labs and represented the Liquidators of the infamous Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities Ponzi scheme. At the trial firm, McKool Smith, Liam represented the Celsius trust in post-bankruptcy litigation.
Additionally, Liam has taught students at Yale Law School crypto litigation and has regularly published articles in legal journals on crypto law and regulation.
Legal Experience
McKool Smith (New York, NY)
Litigation Associate
Selendy Gay (New York, NY)
Litigation Associate
Paul Hastings (New York, NY)
Litigation Associate
Judge Raymond Dearie, E.D.N.Y. (Brooklyn, NY)
Judicial Intern
Education
University of Pennsylvania Law School (J.D.)
Chair, Moot Court Board
Articles Editor, University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law
The Wharton School (Cert. in Management)
University of Kansas, Honors College (B.A.)
Valedictorian, Communication Studies
Representative Matters
Crypto Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Celsius [S.D.N.Y. Bankr.]: Represented Celsius Trust in investigating 100+ pre-petition professionals for aiding & abetting the insiders’ fraud.
Jump [N.D. Ill.]: Drafted class complaint against Terraform Labs and Jump Trading for fraud arising from the collapse of the UST stablecoin.
BitMEX [S.D.N.Y.]: Drafted complaint and dispositive motions in the class action against the BitMEX exchange and its founders for fraud and market manipulation.
DeFi: Assisted the defense of DeFi company and NFT exchange against the Treasury Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
High-Stakes Financial Litigation
BLMIS: Represented Liquidators of the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, clawing back redemptions from 60+ Swiss banks prior to BLMIS’s bankruptcy.
Fortis v. J&J: Represented Plaintiff-Fortis against Johnson & Johnson in the largest earnout case—$1 billion—in Delaware’s history.
Carlyle: Draft earnout complaint against Carlyle on behalf of shareholders of an AI company famous for bringing Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to market.
White-Collar & Regulatory Enforcement Defense
Lynch: Assisted defense of Mike Lynch, charged with wire and securities fraud in connection with the $11 billion sale of Autonomy, who was acquitted at trial on all charges.
Barrack: Assisted defense of Thomas Barrack, Trump’s former inaugural chairman and CEO of Colony Capital, who was acquitted at trial of foreign agent charges.
Connolly/Gibson: Assisted defense of LIBOR traders, Matt Connolly and David Gibson, in their successful appeals in the Second and Third Circuits, overturning both convictions, and named by GIR as among the most important legal cases of 2022.
Appellate Advocacy
Bruen: Drafted Supreme Court amicus in NY State v. Bruen on behalf of Democratic Members of Congress.
Maryland: Authored Fourth Circuit amicus brief on behalf of firearm suicide survivors on compelled speech issue.
Admissions
Southern District of New York
Eastern District of New York
New York State
Publications
Crypto Regulatory “Reset” Under Trump Administration
Source: LinkedIn (Dec. 6, 2024)
Crypto Regs Could See A Reset Under The Next President
Source: Law360 (Aug. 23, 2024)