Kiera K. Murphy

Positive Results

Throughout her tenure at the firm, Kiera has delivered favorable outcomes for clients of all types. These include:

1. Briefing and arguing a motion for default judgment in federal court, resulting in entry of default and default judgment.
2. Briefing and arguing a motion to quash a nonparty deposition subpoena for a Fortune 500 company, resulting in the federal magistrate judge allowing only one narrowed topic.
3. Briefing and arguing a motion to dismiss, which resulted in a complete dismissal from the breach-of-contract action.
4. Briefing and arguing the opposition to a motion to vacate, resulting in denial of the motion.
5. Appearing as the sole attorney at an evidentiary hearing on behalf of a defendant, cross-examining two witnesses and giving a closing argument with the referee finding no damages owed.
6. Obtaining orders for protection for five pro bono clients, including two through evidentiary hearing with direct- and cross-examination of witnesses and closing arguments, and a mutual dismissal of dueling order for protection petitions for a sixth client.
7. Participating as one of four associates in a mock jury trial broadcast by the firm to the public, including giving an opening statement and direct- and cross-examining fact and expert witnesses.
8. Counseling a Fortune 35 company on privilege issues, as well as presenting to the company’s entire legal department two times, once on recent cases involving dual-purpose communications and privilege waivers, and once on recent U.S. Supreme Court cases.
9. Presenting to the entire legal department of one of the five largest U.S. banks on emerging ESG issues.
10. Working as the sole associate on a commercial arbitration matter from the pleading stage through the day before the final hearing, when the client obtained a settlement.
11. Working as the sole associate on a commercial arbitration matter from the pleading stage through fact discovery, when the client obtained a settlement.
12. Deposing a 30(b)(6) witness regarding its claimed damages, with the case ultimately settling.
13. Managing the document review and production in response to a federal grand jury subpoena requesting a decade of business records, with an ultimate decline to investigate further.

Prior Experience

A two-time summer associate with Faegre Baker Daniels (now Faegre Drinker), Kiera rejoined the firm following a legal externship with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota. During her externship, Kiera’s work included drafting publicly filed briefs, one of which resulted in a successful motion to dismiss a lawsuit against a federal agency. She also assisted with cases involving terrorism, child exploitation and opioid diversion issues.

Kiera then gained experience developing risk management strategies, supporting litigation strategy and constructing defensive themes through a judicial externship with the Hon. Paul A. Magnuson of the U.S. District Court of Minnesota, as well as through legal internships with Hormel Foods and Target.