Shawn Michael Murphy

Shawn not only knows family law, but he was realistic with me about my options when he was helping me draft divorce and parenting plan papers. No doubt he could have fought (and won) a nasty court battle if I wanted to go that route, but he did an outstanding job of negotiating and navigating me thro...ugh the more fair and "friendly" (ok...maybe just fair!) divorce I was wanting. (on a side note, use your OWN judgement when hiring a lawyer and do a consultation with more than one! I see a lot of poor reviews for lawyers that have excellent reputations around town and favorable case outcomes. Look at reviews, but also take them with a grain of sale. Remember family court is a highly emotional place, which can lead to "losing" parties lashing out in online reviews about attorneys/judges/etc without disclosing the entire story. Just my two cents)

Shawn Murphy was the biggest waste of time and money!! He is an incompetent attorney. Hired for my divorce. He was completely unprepared and gave very poor advice and nonexistent representation. I found out the hard way that you can’t hire an expensive attorney and expect that they will do their job.... All the things I made clear I needed out of the settlement “He didn’t even ask for!” I could have done a better job myself, if only I’d known I had to do it myself! It’s a fact he lost $50k that was offered in my settlement up front, just because HE WAS UNPREPARED AND HAD NOT READ THE PAPERWORK FROM MY EX’s ATTORNEY PRIOR TO MEDIATION!!!!!! You could try and say neither had I, therefore it’s not a 100% his fault. However, I disagree. I hired a professional to do his job and didn’t know I needed to micromanage him! He chose (I paid for) the least neutral mediator EVER. It was not a neutral mediation at all!! And Shawn Murphy did not fairly represent me. You do not need an attorney for mediation!! He did nothing to represent me. I ended up paying for more than my fair share of the total divorce because, HE DIDN’T EVEN ASK FOR ATTORNEY FEES or many other things I had specifically asked for from my ex!!! It was a 30 year marriage. Prior to divorce, and currently, I have a hard time working a full time job because I have VERY documented spinal problems. I’m almost 60, and I’m having difficulty finding employment now that I’m divorced and need to support myself. He got me 5 years of support at 20% of my ex’s income. His effort in representation was appalling. His competency as an attorney is extremely poor.

Didn't do a damn thing for me but tell me how the judge raked me over the coals at a hearing about child support and other financial matters. He sure loved to stand there with none a word and no defense whatsoever. I'm still going through a dissolution with NO advice from him. Hired a much better ...attorney is town. Shawn seemed like this was an open and shut case and tested his theories in court. I lost thousands listening to his professional advice.

After having dealt with Mr Murphy for several months I hope my opinion may help someone else. In my case I had an uncontested divorce with the personal property and child custody already decided. Mr. Murphy insisted we had to go to trial. He scheduled a court date and then didn't show up or notify t...he court or the opposing party of the change. Currently Mr. Murphy still hasn't been able to conclude my divorce.