Ellen Murphy

Ellen Murphy

Professor of Practice

Ellen teaches legal ethics, including Professional Responsibility courses for JD students and Unauthorized Practice of Law courses for nonlawyer professionals. She is a co-author on several legal ethics texts, a member of the NC State Bar Ethics Committee, and a subject-matter expert for the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam. She also serves on the ABA's Standing Committee for the Public Protection in the Provision of Legal Services.

Ellen served as Wake Forest Law's first Associate Dean of Strategic Initiatives and first Assistant Dean of Instructional Technologies and Design. An online teacher since 2009, she was the chief administrative and … Read more »

Ellen teaches legal ethics, including Professional Responsibility courses for JD students and Unauthorized Practice of Law courses for nonlawyer professionals. She is a co-author on several legal ethics texts, a member of the NC State Bar Ethics Committee, and a subject-matter expert for the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam. She also serves on the ABA's Standing Committee for the Public Protection in the Provision of Legal Services.

Ellen served as Wake Forest Law's first Associate Dean of Strategic Initiatives and first Assistant Dean of Instructional Technologies and Design. An online teacher since 2009, she was the chief administrative and curricular architect of the school's online Master of Studies in Law, the law school's first fully online degree.

A native of Eastern North Carolina, Ellen has a BS in Agribusiness and is getting an LLM in Agriculture and Food Law at the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville). She is a board member at Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture (BRWIA), a nonprofit that serves the North Carolina High Country.

Prior to joining Wake Forest Law, Ellen was a United States federal appeals court clerk (The Honorable Frank J. Magill, 8th Circuit), a corporate lawyer, and the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Lawyer Assistance Program. She is a 2002 graduate of Wake Forest Law, where she served as Editor in Chief of the law review.

Education

  • LLM in Agriculture and Food Law, University of Arkansas School of Law, 2025
  • MEd in Instructional Technology, North Carolina State University, 2014
  • JD, Wake Forest University School of Law, 2002
  • BS, North Carolina State University, 1998

Presentations

  • AI in Law Practice: Navigating the Ethical Landscape
    Iowa State University/, September 17, 2024
  • Replacing this Old House: Certifying and Regulating New Legal Service Providers
    Wash U Journal L & Policy Symposium, September 6, 2024
  • Real Practice, Artificial Intelligence
    Parker Poe CLE, September 4, 2024
  • Artificial Intelligence in Law Practice: Navigating the Ethical Landscape
    National Agricultural Law Center, June 7, 2024
  • Client Protection Funds and the Rise of AI
    American Bar Association, May 31, 2024
  • Ethical Issues in the Use of AI in the Legal Profession
    Western District of NC Bankruptcy Bench and Bar, May 17, 2024
  • The (Un)Authorized Practice of Law: What's New ( & Not)
    Equal Justice Initiative, March 26, 2024
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Media

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Ellen Murphy
Contact Information
 336.758.4281

Worrell 3347
Expertise
  • Law & Technology
  • Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility