The Murphy Firm

Walk into most downtown Baltimore law offices and you'll be greeted by a receptionist sitting under a sign that bears the firm's name.

Not at The Murphy Firm, where the firm's roster and its name are changing so fast that the signage can't keep up.

The firm, headed by the flamboyant William H. "Billy" Murphy Jr., has gained several partners in the past few months. When the dust settles, the firm, long a powerhouse in the criminal defense and civil litigation, is expected to be known as Murphy, Mason, Falcon, Ravenell & Kuykendall.

"We're an evolving target," said Richard V. Falcon, one of the firm's leaders.

All told, in the last six months, the firm has grown from eight lawyers to 15.

Those who have joined the firm recently include Frederick T. "Rick" Kuykendall, a high-profile Alabama trial lawyer whom Murphy met while defending H & R Block Inc. from a class-action lawsuit filed by Kuykendall, and Roy Mason of Mason, Cawood & Hobbs PA, whose office is in the process of becoming the Murphy Firm's Annapolis branch.

Mason said he is continuing to run Mason, Cawood & Hobbs while also handling much of Murphy's personal injury practice. He said Mason, Cawood & Hobbs, which includes him and three other full-time- equivalent attorneys, should be completely folded into The Murphy Firm by the beginning of 2008.

Mason has been "working with Billy on his cases for about five years and we just worked on more and more cases...," he said.

"[T]hen, earlier this year, Billy asked me to join the firm and so we're doing a gradual process of bringing our firms together, and it's been an absolute joy to practice with Billy and with the other partners, lawyers, paralegals," he said.

The most recent addition to The Murphy Firm was Kenneth W. Ravenell of Schulman, Treem, Kaminkow, Gilden & Ravenell PA, a criminal defense lawyer who will work on both criminal matters and major civil litigation at The Murphy Firm. Ravenell brought an associate with him, Falcon said.

Both Ravenell and Murphy said that Murphy has been trying to recruit Ravenell for years. The two finally "agreed my addition could make us the great firm we want to be," Ravenell said.

Robert B. Schulman, managing partner of Schulman Treem, said Ravenell left the firm on good terms. He simply wanted to do "substantial sophisticated civil litigation" that he would not have the opportunity to do at the Schulman firm, Schulman said. He added that Ravenell would continue to consult with Schulman Treem on "hundreds" of cases.

"If the tenor of your article is to suggest that this is a blow to us, it's not," Schulman said. "We see it as a good thing."

Murphy declined to discuss the value of the business brought by Kuykendall, Mason and Ravenell.

"None of these guys have small practices," he said.

The firm continues to ponder a merger with Brown & Sheehan LLP, with whom Murphy's lawyers have been sharing space at 1 South St., the Alex Brown building, since the summer. The two firms moved in together after successfully collaborating to defend the University of Maryland Medical System in a medical malpractice case.

"We're doing a mating dance," Murphy said. The two firms are "looking down the road at some ultimate permanent arrangement."

Michael A. Brown, a founder of Brown & Sheehan, did not return a call for comment Monday.

Copyright 2007 Dolan Media Newswires
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.