Kerrie M. Murphy

Managing Partner Kerrie Murphy is a “builder.” Early in her career, the Sioux City and Des Moines, Iowa, City Attorney’s Office entrusted her to handle any case that came through the door. She learned the ropes, built up her skills, and after 7 years in public service, moved into private practice joining Gonzalez, Saggio & Harlan. In 2016, she and Emery Harlan, formed MWH Law Group.

A Passion for Leadership

Kerrie’s passion for leadership is clear as she deftly executes her responsibilities that span oversight of new lawyer hires, litigator training, firm financials, strategy, growth, client service, and other administrative duties in her role as Managing Partner for MWH. She ensures that all practice teams have the tools and resources needed to provide clients with a consistently high level of service, resulting in excellent client satisfaction feedback. And she built all this while maintaining her successful litigation practice and winning the loyalty of longstanding MWH clients.

A Passion for the Law

Kerrie began her legal career as a litigator more than 30 years ago when she began trying cases 2 weeks out of law school. Kerrie heads up the firm’s Litigation Practice Group. She has extensive experience in all types of litigation, including automobile accidents, commercial vehicle and truck accidents, premises liability, product liability and worker’s compensation involving bodily injury claims that run the gamut from soft tissue sprains to quadriplegic injury, traumatic brain injury and death. She represents clients in state and federal district court, appeals courts and before the Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commission. In addition, Kerrie has experience handling general litigation involving business disputes, real estate, commercial contracts and financial services. She is a seasoned litigator, having tried dozens of cases in both state and federal court.

Over her more than 30 years in law practice as a successful litigator, and with all her significant accomplishments, Kerrie’s zest for “building” has not ebbed. Possessing an uncanny ability to learn new areas of law quickly, she joined the firm’s corporate and transactional practice in 2021, where she focuses on drafting, reviewing, and negotiating commercial contracts and commercial leases.

As a firm leader for many years, I know business from the inside out, and I approach the law from a unique yet practical business perspective.

Kerrie adds exceptional value to MWH corporate client matters thanks to her legal and business management skills. She brings her hands-on experience and understanding of the full complement of business disciplines, including contract, human resources, technology infrastructure, administration, finance, strategy, customer service, and more.

Kerrie’s many years deliberating strategies and arguments to validate, oppose,
or annul contracts in disputes, gives her unusual insight regarding constructing documents that will hold up in court if needed. She hones in on troubling nuances and can identify effective solutions to resolve uncommon contractual terms.

A Passion for Service

I believe paying attention to client guidelines is essential for planning matters accordingly. If the client has certain metrics, we’ll meet them.

Kerrie knows what matters most to the client, whether in corporate transactions or litigation. She is sensitive to their needs and takes a highly detailed approach to meeting client guidelines, goals, and reporting requirements. Her hallmark is her passion for providing high-touch service, timely communications, and appropriate staffing. She ensures that any other lawyer or paralegal working on a client matter listens to what the client is saying, knows what they expect, and is accountable for following defined procedures.

Unlike some counsel, Kerrie does not “sit” on a case or transaction until a reporting or filing deadline approaches. Rather, she jumps into the substance immediately, to evaluate what is at stake, give an honest assessment, and plan the most cost-effective strategy to achieve a desirable outcome.

A Passion for Others

MWH is a member of the National Association of Minority and Women-Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF), one of the leading organizations focused on creating opportunities for women and minority-owned law firms. Kerrie is passionate about the association’s work and its progress in helping corporations draw upon diverse talent. On a practical level, Kerrie has helped her own firm build a diverse team, ensuring MWH clients access to well-rounded, highly-educated legal professionals with varied viewpoints, backgrounds, and experiences.

“NAMWOLF’s work has been transformative. Credit goes to our partner, Emery Harlan, who envisioned such an association helped bring it into existence. NAMWOLF members are responsible for the tremendous growth in the number of minority and women-owned law firms in the United States and the hundreds of millions of dollars in legal work referred to those firms.”