Former U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Murphy Joins Fox Rothschild LLP

PHILADELPHIA - Fox Rothschild LLP has announced that former U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Murphy has joined the firm as a partner. Murphy will be a member of the firm's Litigation Department resident in the Philadelphia and Warrington (Bucks County, Pa.) offices.

The first Iraq war veteran elected to Congress, Murphy represented Pennsylvania's Eighth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives after his 2006 election. Murphy was the author and chief sponsor of the newly signed bill repealing the Defense Department's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy concerning gay service members.

While in Congress, Murphy served on the House Committee on Appropriations, House Armed Services Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He played a significant role in the passage of the 21st Century GI Bill, which provides individuals with various resources upon completion of military service. He was also the author of the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act, which enacted stricter standards among federal agencies to identify improper payments and recover misspent taxpayer dollars, as well as a patent bill that helps ensure the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has the necessary resources to handle a backlog of applications.

Locally, Murphy focused on flood relief and prevention along the Delaware River as well as securing increased funding for local first responders and the economic revitalization of Bucks County, including efforts to attract "green energy" companies to the area. His endeavors during his time in office resulted in the creation of thousands of jobs in his district. He also reached across the political aisle to bring a National Veterans Cemetery to Bucks County.

A decorated U.S. Army veteran, Murphy was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Reserve upon graduation from King's College in 1996 and eventually branched into the Judge Advocate General's Corps.

While in law school at Widener University School of Law, he worked in the Philadelphia District Attorney's office and later as a leader in the Harrisburg Civil Law Clinic, a legal aid society serving the indigent, while concurrently serving in the Army Reserve. He also worked as legislative aide to Thomas Tangretti, a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from Westmoreland County.

In 2000, Murphy went on active duty. During his military career, he trained as an airborne and air assault paratrooper and later served as a prosecutor, both as a special assistant U.S. attorney in New York and in North Carolina. Murphy also was an assistant professor of Constitutional Law at West Point. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Murphy volunteered for overseas deployment, serving in Bosnia (2002) and in Baghdad during the Iraq War (2003 to 2004). While in Baghdad as a captain in the Army's U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, Murphy worked to reconstruct the justice system and helped prosecute Sheik Moyad, a lieutenant of Muqtada al-Sadr. He was awarded the Bronze Star for Service.

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