Zuckerman Spaeder LLP Expands with Addition of Five Lawyers from Baltimore Litigation Boutique

National litigation firm Zuckerman Spaeder LLP has announced a significant expansion of its Baltimore office with the addition of five attorneys from Murphy & Shaffer LLC. The move adds greater depth and experience to the firm’s nationally-recognized business litigation and white collar criminal defense practices. Zuckerman Spaeder, which also has offices in Tampa, New York City and Washington, DC, where it is headquartered, announced that the move will be effective February 28, 2011.

“Baltimore has always been a vital part of Zuckerman Spaeder’s national litigation presence,” said Graeme W. Bush, chairman of Zuckerman Spaeder. “Our Baltimore team is not only involved in important local litigation in Baltimore, but it also is consistently involved in high-stakes litigation at the national level. The five lawyers joining us from another of Baltimore’s most respected litigation firms will give Zuckerman Spaeder an even more formidable local presence and even greater depth nationally.”

Both Murphy & Shaffer and Zuckerman Spaeder’s Baltimore office are ranked “highly recommended” by Benchmark Litigation—two of only eight Baltimore firms to earn that honor. Each of the principals of Murphy & Shaffer and partners of Zuckerman Spaeder’s Baltimore office is listed in The Best Lawyers in America.

Joining Zuckerman Spaeder are Murphy & Shaffer principals William J. Murphy, Robert T. Shaffer III, and John J. Connolly, who will join the firm as partners, along with Daniel P. Moylan and Conor B. O’Croinin, who will join as associates.

Mr. Murphy is widely recognized as one of Maryland’s top business litigation attorneys. Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business describes him as “simply brilliant—he understands what perfection is and knows how to achieve it.” Mr. Murphy, a former clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun, represents businesses and individuals in high-stakes civil litigation, white collar criminal matters, congressional investigations, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement proceedings, and appellate matters in Maryland and throughout the country. He has represented outside attorneys for Enron in class action securities litigation and grand jury, SEC, and congressional investigations that followed Enron’s collapse; senior Clinton Administration officials in congressional and independent counsel investigations; national and regional law firms in professional malpractice litigation; and national and regional businesses and their officers and directors in complex commercial litigation.

“I have known and worked with many of the attorneys at Zuckerman Spaeder for as long as 25 years, and we are all excited to join this firm of experienced litigators,” said Mr. Murphy. “Our combined strengths will add to Zuckerman Spaeder’s legal talent for businesses and individuals facing complex civil, criminal, and regulatory litigation.”

Mr. Murphy is joined by his long-time partner Robert T. Shaffer III, who has represented major corporations, public utilities, and small and medium-sized businesses in a wide variety of commercial disputes, including products liability litigation, the defense of mass torts, and construction litigation. Mr. Shaffer has tried cases in federal and state courts and before industry and private arbitration tribunals and argued appeals in federal and state courts in Maryland and beyond. He also has represented clients before federal and state agencies and self-regulating organizations, including the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the SEC, the Maryland Public Service Commission, the Maryland Securities Commissioner, and the New York Stock Exchange. The Best Lawyers in America quotes one description of Mr. Shaffer as a lawyer who is “smart, has excellent judgment … and can present a complex case better than anyone I know.” He is recognized as a “local litigation star” by Benchmark Litigation and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America for commercial litigation.

Also joining Zuckerman Spaeder will be Murphy & Shaffer principal John J. Connolly, recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for appellate litigation. Mr. Connolly and Mr. Murphy recently completed a successful federal antitrust challenge to Maryland’s wholesale price regulations governing alcoholic beverages. The case was filed in 1999 and included a five-day trial on the state’s 21st Amendment defense and four separate appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

The three principals of Murphy & Shaffer will be joined by associates Daniel P. Moylan and Conor B. O’Croinin. Mr. Moylan has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America for professional liability litigation, and Mr. O’Croinin recently was recognized as a “rising star” by Maryland Super Lawyers.