A nationally recognized expert on child abuse and interpersonal violence, Murphy is a professor at New England School of Law in Boston, where she also directs the Sexual Violence Legal News and Judicial Language projects. Murphy is a former Middlesex County prosecutor and founded the first ever volunteer legal advocacy program for crime victims. She also has gained national recognition as a television legal analyst, appearing on ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC, and is the author of And Justice for Some.