Skillful Advocacy For Employees in Employment Litigation
General Info
The Law Offices of Stephen M. Murphy represents employees in the San Francisco Bay Area who have suffered discrimination or harassment in the workplace, have been unfairly terminated, or denied medical leave or other legal rights by their employers. As trial lawyers, we see it as our job to advocate vigorously and effectively on behalf of employees who have been legally wronged. To schedule a free initial consultation, call 415-986-1338 or fill out the contact form on our website.
He is loosely based on me though I have never practiced law in New Hampshire, nor have I ever handled a criminal case. I was inspired to create him by watching criminal defense attorneys in various trials and noting how courageously they fought for their clients’ rights.
DUI/DWI
THE CALL: Boston Lawyer Dutch Francis has moved to the small city of Manchester, New Hampshire, where the only criminal cases he takes are DWIs. That is until—after more than twenty years—his childhood friend Larry Conway calls, pleading for his help.
Sex Crimes
After leaving his ex-wife and a lucrative corporate practice in Boston, Dutch Francis moved to Manchester, New Hampshire to practice a “more humane kind of law.” His ex-partner and ex-father-in-law Rodger Dobbs, a Brahmin whose roots go back to the Mayflower, refers him a sexual harassment case involving his niece Julia Howard. Howard is a former associate at Thibodeau & Franklin, a prestigious New Hampshire law firm. Julia claims that senior partner Vincent Thibodeau made unwelcome sexual advances toward her and she had to quit her job to get away from him. Thibodeau is a prominent player in New Hampshire Republican politics and a nominee for a high visibility position on the First Circuit Court of Appeals. As the sexual harassment case spirals out of control, Dutch finds himself drawn into charges of attempted murder, date rape, and sexual molestation. His relationship with beautiful television newscaster Ginnie Turner reaches a crisis point as Dutch must confront his own conceptions of power and sex.
Murder
A Boston native, STEPHEN M. MURPHY graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts and the University of San Francisco School of Law. After graduating from law school in 1981, he served as a law clerk to the justices of the New Hampshire Superior Court. While in New Hampshire he worked on a murder trial that inspired his first Dutch Francis novel...
Alibi. For over 34 years, he represented plaintiffs in personal injury and employment litigation. He is Past President of San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association, which voted him Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2008. He has also been named by SuperLawyers as one of the Top 100 lawyers in Northern California.
Sexual Harassment
About Power is a wonderful novel that is an entertaining and compelling read. Dutch Francis is an extremely like-able and interesting protagonist—witty, insightful and strong willed yet possessing just the right amount of compassion. The other primary characters are also well developed, leading to an unexpected depth in a legal thriller. The author also does an excellent job exploring/intertwining several subjects—power, sexual harassment and family/personal/ working relationships. I really enjoyed the book and look forward to the next Dutch Francis novel. Highly recommended.”
“San Francisco personal injury lawyer Stephen M. Murphy has talked with dozens of JDs-turned-authors over the years, and in
Medical Malpractice
The Verdict, about a down-and-out lawyer who accepted a medical malpractice case against a Catholic hospital. The scene with a roomful of defense attorneys sitting around a huge conference room plotting to beat poor overmatched plaintiff lawyer Frank Galvin stayed with me. When Galvin managed, despite many mistakes, to bring in a large plaintiff’s verdict, I was hooked. The David-versus-Goliath theme stuck with me, not only in my later efforts at legal fiction but also in my own legal practice.