Family Law

• Family Law: including negotiated or mediated resolutions of family issues
• Collaborative Law resolutions
• Litigated custody, visitation or support issues
• Contested and uncontested divorces

Family Law

• Mediation/Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
• Name Changes
• Restraining Orders
• Enforcement Actions

Abuse

• Child Abuse
• Domestic Violence
• Elder Abuse
• Sexual Abuse

Children

• Adoptions
• Child Support
• Children's Rights
• Custody
• Foster Care
• Paternity
• State Child Protection
• Visitation

Couples

• Domestic Partnerships
• Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transsexual, Transgender Rights
• Living Together/Cohabitation
• Marriage
• Power of Attorney
• Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreements

Education & Schools

• Colleges & Universities
• Individualized Education Plans
• Private Schools
• Public Schools
• Student Rights
• Teacher Abuse
• Title IX
• Trade & Technical Schools
• Special Education

Elder Law

• Age Discrimination
• Competency Hearings
• Guardianships & Conservatorships
• Long-Term Care
• Nursing Homes
• Powers of Attorney
• Medicaid & Medicare Planning
• Advanced Health Care Directive
• Healthcare Power of Attorney
• Healthcare Proxy
• Tax Planning
• Nursing Home Negligence

Rights

• Grandparent Rights
• Termination of Parental Rights

Divorce

• Family Law: including negotiated or mediated resolutions of family issues
• Collaborative Law resolutions
• Litigated custody, visitation or support issues
• Contested and uncontested divorces

Divorce

• Alimony/Palimony/Spousal Support
• Annulment
• Child Support
• Custody/Visitation Rights
• Delinquent Support Payments
• Division of Property
• Mediation/Alternative Dispute Resolution(ADR)
• Restraining Orders
• Uncontested Divorce
• Collaborative Law
• Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transsexual, Transgender (LGBT) Rights

NY, Jan 1989
Bar Number: 22555966

New York State Courts, Pennsylvania State Courts (inactive), Delaware State Courts (inactive), United States District Courts: Southern District of New York, Northern District of New York, Eastern District of New York, Western District of New York, Western District of Pennsylvania, District of Delaware, and United States Circuit Court for the Third Circuit.

American Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, Tompkins County Bar Association, Cortland County Bar Association, Ithaca Area Collaborative Professionals and Estate Planning Council of Tompkins County.

I attend numerous seminars and I provide pro bono divorce services.

N Orman, et al., v. America Online, Inc., et al., Civil Action No. 97264A (E.D.Va.)
Successfully completed a fact intensive review of nearly 200,000 pages of documents, over 1000 KB of data and seven depositions in only five months, a key factor in obtaining $35 million settlement for the class.

Coalition To Save Our Children v. Board of Education, District of Delaware, Civ. Act. No. 1856.
Participated in plotting legal and political strategy for civil rights matter, including successful settlement negotiations and drafting numerous motion papers. Responsible for interview of various local leaders in successful effort to support motion for class certification.

Kyes v. Northbrook Property and Casualty Insurance Company, 278 A.D.2d 736 (3d Dept. 2000)
Succeeded in overturning summary judgment for client who was misled about the coverage of his insurance policy. Resolved case before trial to obtain a favorable recovery for client.

Lopez v. Robinson, 25 A.D.3d 1034 (3d Dept. 2006)
Successfully defended custody hearing result granting sole custody to mother.

1

New York (inactive licenses maintained in Delaware and Pennsylvania)

My staff and I specialize in partnering with our clients to meet the needs of their lives: helping them organize their business, buying homes, building assets, helping with family problems and resolving conflict. I encourage clients to explore alternative conflict resolution, including negotiation, mediation and collaborative law before engaging in litigation.

Ward & Murphy was formed by the merger of the practices of Jack Ward in Ithaca and Evan Webster in Groton. Both of those practices served people in Tompkins County for nearly twenty years. Over those twenty years, both Jack and Evan built solid reputations for providing their clients with timely solutions to their legal problems. I joined the practice in 1999 soon after moving back to New York, having practiced law for over ten years in New York City, Pittsburgh and Wilmington.

I started my career with a large law firm in New York City. After a brief stint in Pittsburgh, I spent nearly eight years with a securities litigation firm in Wilmington, Delaware, helping investors recover from stock fraud and doing pro bono work on the local desegregation case. My family and I decided to move to Ithaca nearly ten years ago so that we could be closer to our families and so that I could take over a law practice that focused on providing comprehensive legal services to a community.

CV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell, Empire State Counsel recognition for 50+ hours of pro bono work in 2007 and 2008.

Amy

(607) 898-3765

Monday through Friday
9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Appointments available:
Monday, Wednesday and Friday: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Tuesday and Thursday: 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Yes

We understand French, but are not fluent.

Ithaca, NY
109 East Seneca Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

Small Business Services:
• Creating a corporation, partnership or limited liability company ("LLC") - $400 to draft the initial papers, plus the state imposed filing and recording fees
• Providing advice - billed on an hourly basis

Family Services
• Negotiation or mediation of divorce, custody or visitation - billed on an hourly basis
• Collaborative Law representation - billed on an hourly basis
• Uncontested divorce - $650 to draft the papers, plus state imposed filing fees of $350
• Contested divorce - billed on an hourly basis
• Custody/visitation/support cases - billed on an hourly basis

Criminal Defense
• traffic offenses or violations - billed on an hourly basis with $500 minimum retainer
• misdemeanors - billed on an hourly basis with $1,000 minimum retainer
• DWI (driving while intoxicated) - billed on a hourly basis with $1,500 minimum retainer
• felonies - billed on an hourly basis with $5,000 minimum retainer

Real Estate
• documents drafted without title review - $150-$300 per document plus recording fees
• purchase or sale of real estate with title review -
- price less than $50,000 - fee of $500 or hourly, whichever is more
- price between $50,000 and $100,000 - fee of $700
- price between $100,000 and $150,000 - fee of $900
- price over $150,000 - 1% of the price
- commercial transaction - 1% of the price

Wills and other estate documents
• wills - $200
• powers of attorney - $100
• health care proxies - $125
• wills for a couple - $300
• wills, powers of attorney and health care proxies for a couple - $600

Attorneys
Liam G.B. Murphy - $225 per hour

Paralegals
Amy Jackson - $85 per hour

Of Counsel
Attorneys:
William R. Shaw - $275 per hour
Christopher B. Colosi - $175 per hour

Our minimum billable unit is 15 minutes.

I do not generally offer a free consultation. Instead, I charge for the consultation, but we provide a letter detailing our proposals and outlining options for the potential client.

My retainer varies on the type of case. We also vary retainers based on a detailed litigation or project budget which we provide as part of the retainer letter.