Jason Murray, president and CEO of Murray Law P.A., located at 15500 New Barn Road in Miami Lakes, was recently installed as the Dade County Bar Association (DCBA) president for the 2015-2016 year. The installment is a marker of history as the oldest and largest voluntary bar association founded in the early 1900’s welcomes Murray as the association’s first African American president. Murray was previously president for the Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. Bar Association.
“As our community grapples with the fallacy of a post-racial society, I begin my term as the 99th president of this great association with profound gratitude and great humility,” wrote Murray in his President’s Message for the DCBA. “Let us continue the work of breaking down the barrier to racial, ethnic and gender diversity within the bench and bar of our legal community.”
Murray’s installation as 99th President of the DCBA follows a long list of accolades. Murray Law P.A. has been named in U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Law Firms” list for 2014 as a Tier 2 Law Firm for the practice of Franchise Law in Miami. Murray himself has been ranked in U.S. New and World Report’s list of “Best Lawyers in America” in the practice area of Franchise Law consecutively since 2007.
Prior to opening Murray Law P.A., Murray’s interest in law could be traced back as far as seventh grade when signatures and notes from friends in a yearbook speak to hiring him as a lawyer. Murray graduated from Miami Norland Senior High School and later graduated from Duke University with a triple major in English, Political Science and History.
Following law school at the University of Virginia, Murray went on to work as a Judicial Clerk for the Honorable Joseph W. Hatchett, United States Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and first African American elected to the Florida Supreme Court.
After working as an associate for Morgan Lewis and Bockius LLP, Murray worked at Carlton Fields, P.A., eventually becoming a partner before parting to create Murray Law P.A. headquartered in Miami Lakes.
“Miami Lakes is a great location for me,” said Murray who is relocating from Bull Run Road to the Leroy Collins Building at 7900 Oak Lane in Miami Lakes Business Park West later this year. “My wife teaches at a local school where my children attend and it’s so much easier to attend performances and games nearby rather than driving all the way from Downtown where we have a smaller location.”
Family is important to Murray and was once heavily intertwined with his career plans. Murray’s father, James, was an assistant Pastor and restaurant owner. Murray, much like his father entertained an “entrepreneurial spirit” that he hoped to satisfy by going into the family’s restaurant business.
Murray practiced as a young lawyer with goals to take care of the legal aspects of franchising his father’s seafood restaurant but after a family tragedy derailed plans, Murray pursued opening Murray Law P.A. and assumed his father’s previous role as assistant Pastor at Soul Saving Station Church as his father became pastor.
Civic, familial, and career duties drive Murray’s schedule which he juggles with seeming ease and grace. Murray moves forward to continue growing the DCBA and planning for its centennial celebration. For more information on Murray Law P.A. visit www.murraylawpa.com.