Terry Murphy served as Executive Director of The Chicago Bar Association for 35 years before retiring in September of 2020. Murphy began his career with the CBA in 1971 and held many positions during his tenure, including secretary to numerous standing committees, director of the CBA’s Lawyer Referral Service, staff liaison to the Centennial Committee, and Assistant Executive Director. Following a national search in 1985, he was appointed the CBA’s 5th Executive Director in the association’s 147-year history. Over the course of his career, Murphy played key roles in the development and implementation of many of the CBA’s leading programs, including the Lawyer Referral and In-Court Lawyer Referral Programs; as well as Dial-Law and Law at the Library, both collaborative partnerships with the Chicago Public Library offering public access to free legal services and information on a wide range of topics. Murphy was also a key contributor, along with CBA past President Thomas A. Demetrio, in establishing the Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth Program which provides tutor and mentoring services to young students from Chicago’s most impoverished communities.
Murphy’s commitment to diversity and inclusion in the legal profession was also a cornerstone of his leadership at the CBA. He was a founding member and Treasurer of the Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession, a not-for-profit organization that works to acknowledge, understand, and address the reality of diversity in today’s legal profession and to promote inclusion in legal, judicial, educational and government institutions. Working with the CBA’s first African American President Chester L. Blair in 1990, Murphy was instrumental in the creation of the Earl Burrus Dickerson Awards. The awards were established to honor Dickerson, one of the first African American members of the CBA, whose life and professional career were devoted to the law and helping others gain equality and justice. The Dickerson Awards are presented annually to recognize and honor minority lawyers and judges whose careers emulate the work and commitment of Dickerson.
Murphy also played a key role in the development, fundraising and move from the CBA’s original headquarters at 29 S. LaSalle Street to the current location at 321 S. Plymouth Court.
Murphy was also instrumental in founding the CBA Insurance Agency, a subsidiary of the CBA that offers full insurance services for CBA members and Chicago’s legal community. He was also a guiding force in the formation of the CBA’s Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and the Barristers Big Band.
In addition to his work at the CBA, Murphy was elected and served as president of the National Association of Bar Executives in 1989 and he was appointed by Mayor Richard Daley to serve on Chicago’s Workforce Board. He also served on the Ethics Committee for the Elmhurst Art Museum and serves as President of The Chicago Bar Association’s Condominium Board of Directors.
