Carla N. Murphy practices in the area of employment law and litigation. Ms. Murphy provides advice to employers in various industries concerning hiring, wage-and-hour issues, disciplinary action, due diligence reviews, family and medical leave laws (e.g., FMLA), disability accommodation laws (e.g., ADA), discrimination, harassment, retaliation, termination, competition, privacy and other business-related torts.  She also provides management training and offers litigation avoidance advice to employers, encouraging the development of employment policies and agreements, which includes employee handbooks, arbitration agreements, non-competition and trade secret agreements, employment contracts, and separation and severance agreements. Ms. Murphy has successfully defended numerous clients in business and employment-related suits before state and federal courts and before administrative agencies, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights. Her litigation experience also includes work on a variety of commercial, construction and admiralty cases.

As reflected in her more than 1,000-page publication, Maryland Employment Law Forms and Practice Manual, Ms. Murphy offers an especially practical focus as she counsels clients on the wide range of day-to-day legal issues relating to the employee/employer relationship.  She also applies her experience from presiding over disciplinary and post-termination cases as a part-time Hearing Officer for the Baltimore City Civil Service Commission to effectively represent her clients in alternative dispute resolution and litigation matters. 

Ms. Murphy is a 2000 graduate, with honors, of the University of Maryland School of Law, where she was associate editor of the Journal of Health Care Law & Policy, and a summa cum laude graduate of Lafayette College.

Areas of Practice

  • Employment Counseling and Advice
  • Employment Litigation
  • Employment Discrimination
  • FLSA and Wage and Hour Compliance
  • FMLA and Other Leave Law Compliance
  • Restrictive Covenants and Unfair Competition
  • Commercial Litigation

Admissions

  • Court of Appeals of Maryland
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • Supreme Court of the United States
  • Maryland

Education

  • University of Maryland School of Law, J.D., with honors, 2000
    - Associate Editor, Journal of Health Care Law & Policy
  • Lafayette College, B.A., summa cum laude, 1997

Experience

  • Duane Morris LLP
    - Partner, 2015-present
  • Baltimore City Civil Service Commission
    - Hearing Officer, 2011-2014
  • Ober|Kaler
    - Principal, 2008-2015
    - Associate, 2000-2008

Professional Activities

  • Duane Morris Women's Impact Network for Success

  • Downtown Partnership Board of Directors
  • Federal Bar Association, Maryland Chapter
  • Maryland State Bar Association, Section on Labor & Employment
  • Women's Bar Association
  • Maryland Defense Counsel

Honors and Awards

  • Named "Maryland's 50 2015 Leading Women" by The Daily Record
  • Recipient, MACS Volunteer Award, Maryland Association of Community Services, 2015
  • Recipient, Volunteer Service Award, The Arc Baltimore, 2015

  • Listed in Maryland Super Lawyers for Employment & Labor Law, 2015-2019

  • Named Very Important Professional ("VIP") Under 40 by The Daily Record, 2014
  • Recipient, United Way Stellar Growth Award, 2010
  • AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®

Board Memberships

  • The Arc Baltimore, 2008-present
    - President
    - Past Vice President
    - Past Secretary

Civic and Charitable Activities

  • Volunteer, Maryland New Directions, a career counseling and job placement agency dedicated to fighting poverty
  • Member of the Board of Directors for The Arc Baltimore, a Social Service Provider for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Representative Matters

  • Obtained dismissal of claims against hospital in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland for sex discrimination, harassment, tortious interference, breach of contract, defamation and civil conspiracy.
  • Represented large fuel supplier facing retaliation claims in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland and obtained summary dismissal of case.
  • Represented national adult day care center sued for pregnancy discrimination and harassment in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida and obtained settlement favorable to the client.
  • Mediation and settlement that health care client found favorable concerning unfair business competition and tortious interference claims.
  • Defeated request for temporary restraining order to enforce non-solicitation agreement in the Baltimore City Circuit Court against national staffing company.
  • Settled in a manner the client found favorable race discrimination and retaliation claims with EEOC and current employee on behalf of large fuel supplier.
  • Counsel to national publishing company concerning wage and hour issues and reclassification strategies.
  • Provided advice and counsel to clients in the financial services, healthcare, retail, not-for-profit and publishing industries regarding disability accommodation, medical leave laws, internal investigations, and reductions in force.
  • Represented numerous employers and executives in the negotiation and drafting of employment agreements, non-competition and confidentiality agreements, and severance agreements.
  • Conducted in house training for management on harassment, discrimination, hiring, firing, and wage and hour issues.

Selected Publications

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • Speaker, "Workplace Violence and Substance Abuse," Duane Morris Institute, November 18, 2018

  • Presenter, "Professionalism in a Diverse Workforce: Anti-Harassment & Discrimination Prevention Training," Legislative Assistant Training, December 6, 2017

  • Speaker, Duane Morris' Developments in Workplace Law and Practice, Washington DC, May 18, 2017
  • Speaker, "Analyzing the Current and Proposed Fair Labor Standards Act Regulations" Seminar, Baltimore Chapter of Associated Builders & Contractors, October 21, 2015
  • Speaker, Duane Morris' Developments in Workplace Law & Practice, Washington DC, June 11, 2015
  • Presenter, "Understanding Business Ethics and Directing the Organization on Times of Uncertainty," HR Certification Institute, 2014
  • Presenter, "Selling HR to the Organization Through Human Capital Measurements," HR Certification Institute, 2014
  • Presenter, "Social Media and Community Banking," Advisory Board Meeting, 2014
  • Presenter, "Social Media, Health Care Privacy and Your Employees: 7 Tips to Avoid HIPAA Violations and Employee Claims," Webinar, Ober|Kaler, 2011
  • Presenter, "Legal and Contractual Aspects of Practice," Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Home Care Physicians, 2011