Michael Murphy
Partner

Mr. Murphy is a partner in Pillsbury's Global Sourcing practice. He represents clients in the utility, finance and retail sectors, concentrating on complex technology transactions and business process outsourcing projects. Mr. Murphy's transactional experience spans traditional outsourcing, joint ventures, strategic alliances and mission critical system licensing transactions. In addition to his role as a legal counselor, Mr. Murphy has acted as a sourcing advisor in some of the most complex infrastructure and applications outsourcing projects worldwide. He has represented clients in North America, Australia and Europe.

In recent years Michael has advised North American utilities in several major smart grid procurement initiatives and energy efficiency programs.

Mr. Murphy is recognized as a leading outsourcing lawyer by Chambers and Partners. Chambers notes that Mr. Murphy has helped clients build "long-standing and solid relationships with service providers." Mr. Murphy has also been ranked in the top tier of Information Technology and Outsourcing lawyers by Chambers USA for the past several years. Mr. Murphy speaks and publishes frequently on technology and outsourcing topics. He is the lead author of a chapter in the Practical Law Company's Cross Border Handbook What Happens on the Outsourcer's Insolvency: A Comparison of Relevant Insolvency Principles in the US, India and China.

He also edits Pillsbury's blog "SourcingSpeak: News and Analysis of Outsourcing, Insourcing and Beyond" at: SourcingSpeak.

Recently, Mr. Murphy presented at the American Conference Institute's San Francisco conference: "Structuring and Negotiating Effective SaaS, PaaS and IaaS Contracts for Cloud Computing", and at TMC's Smart Grid West conference in Los Angeles on "Game Changing Smart Grid Applications".

Mr. Murphy is an Australian citizen and is admitted to practise law in Australia, New York and California.

• Chambers Global, Outsourcing—USA (2007-2013)
• Chambers USA, Outsourcing—National, IT & IT Outsourcing—California (2007-2012) 
• Best Lawyers in America, Information Technology Law (2010-2013);Best Lawyers in America, IT Outsourcing Law (2010-2011)
• PLC Which Lawyer?, Outsourcing—National (2008-2009, 2011-2012)
• Legal 500 US, Technology: Outsourcing (2007, 2011-2012)

Supreme Court of Victoria, Australia

Game - Changing SmartGrid Applications - TMC Smart Grid Conference, Los Angeles, October 2010

Deciphering Cloud Computing Legal Risks and Operational Rewards - ACI Cloud Computing Conference, September 2010

Renegotiation in the Current Economy; presented at the Practising Law Institute’s conference on Outsourcing and Offshoring 2009: Meeting New Challenges

The Smart Grid; a panel discussion as part of Pillsbury’s annual Energy Conference in Washington, DC, October 2009

The Smart Grid: Working with Utilities and BigTech; a panel discussion as part of Pillsbury’s Backstage Pass program, Silicon Valley, July 2009

The Smart Grid: An Overview of Policy, Regulatory and Commercial Issues; a webinar presentation for the Practising Law Institute, July 2009

Acquiring Smart Grid Technologies: Lessons from the Negotiating Table; presented at the Utilipoint National Energy Conference; Houston; October 2008

Scope of Work and Service Levels—Evolving Models and Best Practices; presented at the 2008 Practising Law Institute conference on Outsourcing and Offshoring—Protecting Critical Business Functions

Opportunities for Transformation: Do They Exist and Where Can You Find Them?; 20th Presentation in Pillsbury's Realities of Outsourcing Series; April 2008

Smart Grid Technologies—Placing Long-Term Bets in an Accelerating Market; a joint webinar presentation by Pillsbury Global Sourcing and Utilipoint International; September 2008