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Email: info@purvisgray.net
FIRM OVERVIEW
The firm of Purvis, Gray & Murphy, LLP is a law firm engaging exclusively in civil trials, litigation, appeals, arbitrations, and negotiations. The firm's practice has focused on plaintiff representation in the areas of serious personal injuries, wrongful death, business and commercial torts, product liability, insurance and contract matters, ski area liability including ski lift failures, aviation and train disasters, professional negligence and malpractice, toxic and environmental torts, nursing home negligence and trucking accidents. We maintain offices in Boulder and Denver, Colorado. Our practice is statewide, and (usually in association with attorneys in other states) extends beyond Colorado.
John Purvis and Bill Gray have been recognized for many years in The Best Lawyers in America series. They are also Fellows of the International Society of Barristers, Fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellows of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and members of the American Board of Trial Advocates. Only two other Colorado lawyers have been elected to all of those organizations.
Members of the firm have taught at the University of Colorado School of Law. John Purvis has taught courses in Trial Advocacy, Advanced Trial Advocacy and Evidence. Bill Gray has taught Professional Responsibility.
Purvis, Gray & Murphy donates a significant amount of its practice to pro bono representation.
EXAMPLES OF FIRM ACTIVITIES
A few of the individual and collective accomplishments of the firm are shown by the following examples:
John Purvis was one of two plaintiffs' counsel in a case involving a train crossing accident in which the jury returned a combined verdict of compensatory and exemplary damages in the amount of twenty-three million dollars. This is the largest personal injury verdict in Colorado history. Since then, he has successfully represented many others involved in railroad crossing collisions.
Bill Gray represented 21 Fort Collins families whose properties, homes, and bodies were contaminated by hydrocarbons from underground gasoline leaks. That complex litigation against two major oil companies was successfully settled after three weeks of trial. Bill also successfully represented another group of approximately 100 homeowners in the Boulder area similarly affected by chemical discharges.
The firm has developed significant expertise in catastrophic injury cases such as spinal cord and brain injury cases. The firm has at least several brain injury cases active at any given time. John Purvis has lectured extensively on brain injury at seminars for other lawyers in Colorado and elsewhere around the country, as well as at programs sponsored by the Colorado and Utah Head Injury Associations. All members of the firm have recovered multiple six and seven figure verdicts and settlements for people with brain or spinal injuries.
John Purvis and a retired partner led a team of plaintiffs' attorneys representing those who were injured or killed in Keystone and Vail lift disasters. Bill Gray successfully represented a surgeon who was rendered a ventilator-dependent quadriplegic in a ski area accident. The firm has represented numerous clients injured at ski areas.
In addition, the firm has been retained to defend complex litigation for clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies, banks, and individuals.
All the members of the firm have obtained very substantial recoveries for people injured by defective products. The injuries involved have run the gamut, and the products have included such things as automobiles and various automobile parts, farm machinery, bicycles, a beer keg which exploded, trailer hitch equipment, aircraft components, elevator components, pharmaceutical products, and asbestos.
Bill Gray and John Purvis have served as counsel for plaintiffs and defendants in significant professional malpractice cases. They have also been involved in major employment and wrongful discharge lawsuits.
Pat Murphy was both a State and Federal prosecutor prior to entering private practice. He was the Chief of the Criminal Division for the United States Attorney's Office in the State of Colorado for five years. Pat successfully prosecuted a wide variety of cases including one of the first major sting operations protecting endangered animals, the first major motorcycle gang drug conspiracies and white-collar fraud cases. He was honored by the Justice Department with a Special Achievement Award.
Pat has focused on trial work including medical malpractice, personal injury, complex business disputes and construction litigation in the civil area. He also represents clients in white-collar criminal cases. He represented one of the world's largest construction companies in the longest federal civil trial in the State of Colorado. He has represented a broad range of Colorado's most prominent corporations in investigations by both the State and Federal government in Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming. Pat has both defended and prosecuted a substantial number of complex cases involving sophisticated medical legal cases.
SPECIAL AWARDS
John Purvis was chosen by the Colorado Supreme Court to undertake the reorganization of the State Public Defender's Office. In that same year, the Colorado Bar Association presented John with its Outstanding Young Lawyer Award. In 1997, he received the Award for Distinguished Achievement/Small Firm Practitioner from the University of Colorado Law Alumni Association.
The American College of Trial Lawyers presented Bill Gray with its Award for Courageous Advocacy - probably the loftiest recognition a trial lawyer can receive. When presented to Bill, this award had been bestowed on only four other occasions in the almost forty-year history of the College. One prior recipient was Leon Jaworski, who received the award for his role as the Watergate special prosecutor. Bill Gray was presented the award for his contribution to the cause of justice as the court-appointed defense counsel in the Michael Manning murder case, People v. Daniel Arevelo.
In 1995, Bill was awarded the Colorado Bar Association Professionalism Award.
APPROACH TO THE PRACTICE
Purvis, Gray & Murphy is committed to selecting only those cases that will benefit the most from our unique, aggressive approach. We take on a relatively small number of clients, and strive to do a superior job on those cases. A natural consequence of such an approach is that the firm limits itself to cases involving complex legal issues and the potential for large recoveries. Each case undertaken benefits from the attention of the firm's collective judgment. Although each case is assigned to one or two attorneys, the considerable experience of the entire firm is brought to bear on every case.
The firm approaches and prepares each case as though it will proceed to trial. This preparation, together with the firm's acknowledged ability in trial, allows it to settle the vast majority of cases at substantial levels. If, however, the case cannot be settled to the advantage of the client, the firm is well-prepared and ready to go to trial to seek the best results for each client.
Copyright © 2008Purvis, Gray & Murphy, LLP. All rights reserved. You may reproduce materials available at this site for your own personal use and for non-commercial distribution. All copies must include this copyright statement.