County Attorney Retires

Bay City News – San Mateo County Counsel Michael Murphy announced his retirement to the Board of Supervisors this week, according to the county. He has held the role of county counsel since August 2007.

Murphy has been with the County Counsel's Office for nearly 29 years. He became one of the office's two chief deputies in 1998, and became assistant county counsel in July 2006, Deputy County Manager Mary McMillan said in a statement.

"I considered this a 'dream job' when I joined the office in 1982, and there has not been one day when I didn't look forward to the challenges that awaited me when I walked in the door," Murphy said in the statement.

Murphy, who served as the principal land use attorney for the office for 22 years, was appointed to his current position after the 2007 retirement of former County Counsel Tom Casey, the statement said. The county Board of Supervisors selects the county counsel.

"Mike Murphy's dedication as a public servant should be commended," Richard Gordon, the board's president, said. "His work has not only protected the county, but has also served the local community in numerous ways." 

Murphy announced his retirement, which is effective in March 2011, to the board in a closed session in Redwood City on Tuesday, the statement said. 

Murphy graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1970 and received his law degree in 1978 from the University of California at Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law, the statement said.

As county counsel, Murphy was responsible for legally representing San Mateo County, the county courts, and the Grand Jury, according to McMillan's statement.