Sheela Murthy founded the Murthy Law Firm in 1994 after practicing with leading firms in New York and Baltimore; today the firm in Baltimore County employs about 100 professionals focused on immigration law. Sheela holds an LL.M. from Harvard Law School and is admitted to practice in New York, Maryland, and before the U.S. Supreme Court. An active educator and advocate, she speaks on complex immigration issues for AILA and international organizations, has presented in London and Salzburg, and served on the American Immigration Council’s board (2002–2009), co chairing its Immigrant Achievement Awards. She routinely consults with U.S. consulates and USCIS service centers to advance client interests. Fluent in Kannada, Hindi, and French, Sheela writes regularly, appears in broadcast and print media, and has been honored with Martindale Hubbell’s AV rating; profiles of her work have appeared in The New York Times, The Daily Beast, and The Story Exchange.

We Know Immigration Matters!

Practice Areas

Practice Area

Immigration 100%

Various non-immigrant options like H1B, L1A, L1B, O1, J1, F1, F1 OPT, F1 CPT, etc. Various immigrant filings like PERM, EB1, EB2, NIW, EB3, EB4 and EB5 investor filings. Consultations on student, criminal issues for immigrants, etc.

36 years | 38 cases

100%

Fees and Rates

We have not found any cost information for this lawyer

Contact for Details

Awards

2020 2019 2018

...

+ 4

Avvo Client's Choice Awards

The Avvo Client's Choice Award Badge is granted to attorneys with a significant number of 4+ star reviews in a given year.

Platinum Client Champion

Client Champion awards recognize those attorneys who excel at service as affirmed by their clients. The awards, based on the quantity and quality of an attorney’s Martindale-Hubbell client reviews, demonstrate an ongoing commitment to delivering excellent client service.

This attorney has received at least 10 client reviews, and has an average review score of 4.5 or higher.

AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating

An elite group of attorneys who have been rated highly by their peers as having Very High Ethical Standards and an A grade (4.5 or higher).

This is the highest peer rating standard. This rating signifies a large number of the lawyer’s peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence for their legal knowledge, communication skills and ethical standards.

Licenses

Licensed in Maryland for 36 years

State: Maryland

Acquired: 1989

Active

No misconduct found

Licensed in New York for 37 years

State: New York

Acquired: 1988

Delinquent

No misconduct found

See All Attorney Licenses See Less Attorney Licenses

Location

Murthy Law Firm

10451 Mill Run Circle, Owings Mills, MD, 21117

murthy.com/about-us/law-firm/attorneys/sheela-murthy/

Message Get Directions

See All Locations See Less Locations

Gallery

Sheela Murthy's Reviews

Have you consulted or hired this attorney before?

Leave a review for your experience with this attorney.

Write a Review

Overall Rating
This is an aggregated review score of Avvo and Lawyers.com reviews.

4.7 /5.0

204 Client Reviews

Avvo

4.7

(182)

Lawyers.com

4.8

(22 )

See client reviews from Lawyers.com

Filter Avvo Reviews (182) Refine reviews to match your needs. Use the filters to quickly surface reviews that align with your case or priorities.

Star rating

5 stars 165 4 stars 4

3 stars 0

2 stars 0

1 star 13

Practice Areas

Immigration (147) Lawsuits & Disputes (6) Appeals (2) Litigation (2) Consumer Protection (1) DUI & DWI (1) Divorce & Separation (1) Domestic Violence (1) Medical Malpractice (1)

What Clients Mention

Practice Area Knowledge (90) Case Results (78) Professionalism (70) Recommendation (62) Responsiveness (48) Communication Style (41) General Knowledge (37) Staff & Support (36) Advocacy (34) Trustworthiness (22) Character & Conduct (18) Cost of Services (18) Compassion (9) Punctuality (5) Free Consultations (1)

Showing 86 - 90 of 90 reviews | Practice Area Knowledge

Posted by Rajendra Majji | November 14, 2014 | Immigration

Green Card

Attorneys and the staff at Murthy Law Firm have been thorough professionals and were always one step ahead when dealing with matters of Green Card processing during various stages. They promptly replied to any questions I had withing few hours and provided detailed explanation on what documents neede...d for the application. I will go with Murthy Law Firm for any future immigration matters. I give them a huge thumbs up for their professional work.

See Full Review Collapse Review

Posted by Raj | March 21, 2013 | Immigration

Excellent Attorney

I had a pending I-485 and a DUI ( Driving Under Influence of Intoxicants) and a divorce. A 15 minute telephone session with attorney gave me full confidence that I am going to get through my Green Card Interview. The Attorney's Office is very prompt and friendly, paper works are clean and optim...al. All communications are sent via e-mail, I did not have to make a phone call after my first session with attorney murthy. Finally I got through my Green Card Interview.

See Full Review Collapse Review

Posted by Bhargav Ram | May 17, 2018 | Hired Attorney | Immigration

Immigration Assistance

I truly appreciate the professionalism by which the case was handled. I had a query related to specialty occupation. The paralegal, attorney assisted every step forward achieving towards the success of the situation. I sincerely appreciate Murthy firm for taking the time in clarifying the questions.... Thank you and wish the team good luck. Keep doing the great work.

See Full Review Collapse Review

Posted by anonymous | September 11, 2018 | Hired Attorney | Immigration

H1b extension denied due to poor documentation

My company hired Murthy law firm to respond to my RFE on speciality occupation. Though I have multiple years of experience in the specialized industry, my case was denied due to lack of proper documentation and guidance from Murthy. Had high expectations and it is shattered, I am struggling with n...o options now.

See Full Review Collapse Review

Posted by anonymous | November 09, 2014 | Immigration

Murthy firm turn my case down, went to Carl Shusterman and I got my visa waiver approved in 6 months

I'm a physician and I was on a J1 with the 2 year home requirement rule. I needed to get a hardship waiver in order to stay in the US with my wife and daughters, so I called Murthy's law firm. I paid around $400 for the initial phone consultation and after telling her all my story and personal/family... situation, she said that I had no chance of winning the case, so she recommended not to persue the waiver. I had a real hardship case, I was not trying to cheat the system, we were going through a real bad situation. After Murthy's firm turned my case down, I kept looking for someone to help me. A friend recommended me to talk to Carl Shusterman. I got an initial consultation, which lasted around an hour and twenty minutes of extensive serious questioning over the phone with Dr. Shusterman and after he realized that I was having a real hardship issue, he took my case. To make a long story short, I got a J1 hardship waiver approved 6 months later. Please don't take me wrong, I am not suggesting that Dr. Shusterman is the best lawyer, just saying that you need to be really careful about Murthy's recommendation. In my opinion she is not reliable at all. Please make sure to consult to another lawyer after talking to Murthy, she might mess up your life giving you the wrong advice. Hey she made $400 for a $30 minute consultation and gave me the wrong legal advice.

See Full Review Collapse Review

See All Client Reviews

1 ... 14 15 16 17 18

« First ‹ Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Sheela Murthy's Lawyer Endorsements

Received

Given

Endorse Sheela

Wendy Whitt

Immigration lawyer | Oct 05

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer. I've worked on several American Immigration Lawyer Association committees with Sheela, and I'm always impressed by her knowledge, kindness and commitment to helping others. She is an incredibly talented immigration attorney."

See More Lawyer Endorsements See Less Lawyer Endorsements View All Endorsements

No Endorsement Data Available Yet
This attorney hasn't created any attorney endorsements recently on Avvo.

Experience

Rating: 10.0 (Superb)

Honors

2026

AV Preeminent Rated, Martindale-Hubbell

2026

Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers

2025

National Spark Award (First Recipient), American Immigration Council

2025

Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers

2024

Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers

2023

Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers

2023

Best Law Firms – Tier 1, U.S. News & World Report

2023

Hall of Fame (Lifetime Achievement), Baltimore Sun

2023

Hall of Fame Induction, MD Chamber of Commerce

2022

Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers

2021

Publication of Being Sheela (Biography), HarperCollins

2021

Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers

2020

Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers

2019

Influential Marylander for 2019, Daily Record

2019

Thought Leaders in Corporate Immigration, Who’s Who Legal

2019

Maryland Super Lawyers, Maryland Super Lawyers

2019

Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers

2018

Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers

2017

Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers

2016

20 Most Admired CEOs in Maryland, Maryland Business Community

2016

Best Lawyers in America, Best Lawyers

2016

Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers

2015

Maryland Super Lawyers, Super Lawyers Magazine

2015

Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers

2014

Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers

2014

Clementine Peterson Award for Philanthropy, United Way of Central Maryland

2014

Maryland Super Lawyers, Super Lawyers Magazine

2013

Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers

2013

Future 50 Award, Baltimore SmartCEO Magazine

2013

Maryland Super Lawyers, Super Lawyers Magazine

2013

Who's Who Legal, International Who's Who of Corporate Immigration Lawyers

2012

50 Most Influential Marylanders, Maryland Leadership Organization

2012

Award for Excellence, ASHA For Women

2012

The Sadie Award, The Children's Guild

2011

Maryland's Top 100 Women Award, Maryland Daily Record

2010

Fastest Growing Private Companies (500/5000), Inc. Magazine

2010

Best of Business Award, The Small Business Commerce Association

2009

Entrepreneur of the Year, Ernst & Young

2009

Entrepreneur Of The Year, Ernst & Young

2009

Global Leadership Award, State of Maryland

2009

Philanthropist of the Year, United Way of Central Maryland

2009

Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers

2009

Philanthropist of the Year, United Way of Central Maryland

2008

Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers

2008

Leadership in Law Award, The Daily Record

2008

Leadership in Law Award, The Daily Record

2007

Maryland Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers (Maryland)

2007

Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers

2007

Circle of Excellence (3-time recognition), Top 100 Women Organization

2006

Leadership in Law, American Desi Magazine

2001

40 Under 40 Emerging Business Leaders, Business Leaders Organization

1999

Top 25 Lawyers in Baltimore-Washington, Baltimore Business Journal

See All Honors See Less Honors

Work Experience

1994 - Present

Founder and President, Murthy Law Firm

See All Work Experiences See Less Work Experiences

Associations

2015 - Present

Maryland Chamber of Commerce

Chairman

2010 - Present

Girl Scouts of Central Maryland

Chair, Board of Directors

American Immigration Lawyers Association

Member

American Immigration Lawyers Association (DC chapter)

Former Executive Committee Member

2002 - 2009

American Immigration Council

Board of Trustees

1999 - 2001

American Bar Association

Member, Immigration Law Coordinating Committee

See All Associations See Less Associations

Education

N/A

Harvard University Law School

LL.M - Master of Laws

See All Education See Less Education

Speaking Engagements

2015

Second Annual American Bazaar IT Conclave U.S. Immigration Law

2015

ITechLaw, Asia-Pacific Conference Updates on immigration law

2013

Leadership Summit

Immigration Reform Update

2012

Immigration Seminar

Immigration law

2012

AILA DC Fall Annual Conference

Employment-based Immigration

See All Speaking Engagements See Less Speaking Engagements

Publications

2015

Maryland Bar Bulletin H-1B Petitions: Current Adjudications and Enforcement Trends

2004

Maryland Bar Bulletin The Roles of Various Agencies in Employment-Based Immigration

2003

The Economic Times L-1 & H1B Visas

See All Publications See Less Publications

Languages

French

Hindi

English

See All Languages Spoken See Less Languages Spoken

Avvo Rating

Our Rating is calculated using information the lawyer has included on their profile in addition to the information we collect from state bar associations and other organizations that license legal professionals. Attorneys who claim their profiles and provide Avvo with more information tend to have a higher rating than those who do not.

What determines Avvo Rating?

Experience & background Years licensed, work experience, education
Legal community recognition Peer endorsements, associations, awards
Legal thought leadership Publications, speaking engagements
Discipline Disciplinary information may not be comprehensive, or updated. We recommend that you always check a lawyer's disciplinary status with their respective state bar association before hiring them.

Avvo Rating Levels

10.0 - 9.0 Superb8.9 - 8.0 Excellent7.9 - 7.0 Very Good6.9 - 6.0 Good5.9 - 5.0 Average4.9 - 4.0 Concern3.9 - 3.0 Caution2.9 - 2.0 Strong Caution1.9 - 1.0 Extreme Caution

Learn More About the Avvo Rating

Browse Our Site Find a Lawyer Review Your Lawyer Legal Advice Browse Practice Areas Avvo Stories Blog For Lawyers

About About Avvo Careers Support Avvo Rating Explained

Facebook X / Twitter LinkedIn YouTube

Sheela Murthy

About Sheela

Biography

We Know Immigration Matters!

Practice Areas

Fees and Rates

Awards

Licenses

Licensed in Maryland for 36 years

Licensed in New York for 37 years

Location

Murthy Law Firm

Gallery

Sheela Murthy's Reviews

Overall Rating This is an aggregated review score of Avvo and Lawyers.com reviews.

Sheela Murthy's Lawyer Endorsements

Experience

Honors

Work Experience

Associations

Education

Speaking Engagements

Publications

Languages

Overall Rating
This is an aggregated review score of Avvo and Lawyers.com reviews.