THOMAS J. MURPHY is the sole shareholder in Murphy Law Firm, Inc., located in the Ahwatukee area of Phoenix.  His practice emphasizes estate planning, elder law (to include nursing home issues), all probate matters (to include contested matters) and tax controversies. 

He was the 1999-2000 President of the Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Section of the Maricopa County Bar Association.  He was selected by the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys to serve on its prestigious Steering Committee to plan  NAELA’s annual 2002 Advanced Elder Law Institute.  He serves on the Advisory Board of the Phoenix Tax Workshop and the Editorial Board of the Maricopa Lawyer.

He has been published in many national, state and local professional journals writing on a wide variety of legal and tax matters.  His article on the impact of the new HIPAA regulations on health care powers of attorney has already garnered national recognition.  His articles explaining recent IRS regulations for required minimum distributions from retirement plans have been widely published and were the featured articles in the August 2, 2002 and April 6, 2001 editions of Tax Practice, the nation’s leading weekly tax journal.  His articles on beneficiary deeds and financial powers of attorney were prominently featured in the June 2002 and December 1998 issues of Arizona Attorney.  Both articles have been widely praised and are considered to be the definitive source of authority in Arizona on the topics. 

He has been cited as a leading authority on estate planning law in the March 2002 edition of SmartMoney magazine, published by the Wall Street Journal.  He has been invited to speak before such groups as the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the State Bar of Arizona, the Arizona Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Arizona Federal Tax Institute, the Maricopa County Bar Association, the West Maricopa County Bar Association, the Mohave County Bar Association, the Coconino County Bar Association, the College of Estate Planning Attorneys, the Phoenix Tax Workshop, the Estate Planning Tax Study Group, the Prescott Estate Planning Council, Prudential Financial, Mesa Community College and Phoenix College. 

He is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the Tax Law, Probate & Trust Law and Mental Health & Elder Law Sections of the State Bar of Arizona and the Arizona Medicaid Planning Council.  He has served on numerous state and county bar association committees and was selected to be the State Bar representative to the Arizona Supreme Court’s Committee on Reform of Lower Jurisdiction Courts.  He is also one of the most experienced trial attorneys in the Southwest, having been the sole or lead counsel in over 100 jury trials.  He has successfully litigated cases in the United States Tax Court, the Arizona Tax Court and the Arizona Board of Tax Appeals.  He has represented clients before all levels of the Internal Revenue Service and Arizona Department of Revenue.

He was born and raised in Attleboro, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston.  He is an honors graduate of Tufts University with a double major in economics and history.  He received his law degree from Suffolk University Law School with a concentration in taxation.  He is a former officer in the United States Air Force with assignments to the 314^th Combat Support Group, Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas and the 401^st Tactical Fighter Wing, Torrejon Air Base, Spain.  He is married to the former Ana Maria Orrantia, a native Arizonan who is a Professor of Nursing at Mesa Community College.  They have four children.