Kari E. Murphy
Telephone: 614.636.3476
Direct Dial: 614.636.3476 ext. 111
Background: Kari E. Murphy is a dedicated attorney on the Walton + Brown LLP team. Her practice includes personal injury, civil rights, and employment law and is client-focused and communication heavy. She believes in transparency, responsiveness, and aggressively advocating for her clients both inside and outside of the courtroom. Kari is passionate about helping others, simplifying the legal process, and bringing a speedy and just resolution to her clients’ cases.
Before beginning her practice, Kari served as Assistant Executive Director and Director of Diversity for the Columbus Bar Association, developing her communication and negotiation skills, time management, and ability to juggle multiple competing priorities - skills she now brings to the Walton + Brown LLP team.
Kari also brings experience from her career with the Law and Leadership Institute (LLI) as the Statewide Program Director. There, she worked in all six of Ohio’s major cities to captivate, inspire, and equip underserved minority youth with the skills needed for a college-bound future and professional success. While no longer working in a traditional public service role, Kari maintains her life-long commitment to uplifting her community.
Education: Kari received her bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University and graduated cum laude from Capital University Law School.
While at Capital University Law School, Kari was involved in several student groups, served as a staff editor for the Midwest Journal of Law & Policy, and earned a concentration in Labor & Employment Law. Kari also earned the Presidential Merit Scholarship for her academic performance. In 2013, she was selected for the prestigious David D. White Scholarship for her community service and social consciousness. Kari’s school and community involvement culminated with her receiving the Dean’s Award at graduation for outstanding scholarship, leadership, and contributions to Capital University Law School. She was also selected for the Order of Curia, Law School Honorary Society in 2014.
Notably, Kari received a CALI (highest grade) award in Torts – the area of law covering all things negligence – which she still practices today.
Publications & Speaking Engagements:
Kari is frequently called upon by organizations and continuing legal education providers to offer insight on diversity and inclusion in the legal field, imposter syndrome, notary law changes, and professionalism generally. She has been published in Columbus Business First, Legal Connections for her article on Diversity & Inclusion in the Covid-19 Era and Beyond, and has been featured in Lawyers Quarterly Magazine and the Ohio Minority Business Enterprise Newspaper.
- • Diversity in Leadership Fellowship Orientation: The State of DEI in the Legal Profession, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
- • Paralegal Association of Central Ohio 2020 & 2021: Ohio Notary Modernization Act, Overview & Updates
- • Ohio Women’s Bar Foundation Leadership Institute, 2020: Imposter Syndrome
- • Women Lawyers of Franklin County, 2019: Imposter Syndrome
- • Career Mentor, Black Career Women’s Network Columbus Mentor Summit, 2018
- • Guest Leader, OSU LeaderShape, Inc., 2018
- • Legal Writing 101, Minority Clerkship Program Orientation, 2016
- • Resume Writing, Workforce Development & Career Services, Columbus Uban League, 2016
- • IMPACT Community Action: Workforce Development, 2015: Resume Writing
In the Community: Kari currently serves on the Capital University Law School Alumni Board where she continues to pour into today’s law students. She is a member of the Ohio Association for Justice, the Columbus Bar Association, and the John Mercer Langston Bar Association, where she served on the Advisory Board for several years. She is also a member of the Columbus Urban League Young Professionals, where she previously served on the Education Committee and Change for Change Scholarship Committee. In the past, she’s worked with The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio as a grant reader and served with the United Way’s Women’s Leadership Council as an E3 Program Mentor. She is currently an active member at City of Grace Church in Columbus, Ohio.
Family Life: Kari is married to her husband Joaquin and they live happily together in Reynoldsburg, Ohio with their two young children.