Michael Doran Murray was born on the south side of Youngstown, Ohio, in the township of Boardman.  He was born to the children of Irish immigrants, coming from County Mayo, Ireland. He grew up attending Catholic and public schools in Boardman Township and graduated from the Boardman High School in 1979.
He received his B.A. degree in political science with a concentration on political theory and history and graduated from Ohio University in 1983. Due to the economic downturn at the time, he started his own business, Heights Homecare, which did maintenance and repairs in the Cleveland and University Heights areas. Murray later enrolled in the Cleveland Marshall College of Law and graduated in 1988.  During law school, he served as a clerk for Federal Judge Frank Battisti. Upon graduation, Murray was hired to serve as the Staff Attorney for the  Lake County Common Pleas Court  by Judge Martin O. Parks.

After serving as a Staff Attorney for roughly a year, Steve LaTourette, the newly elected Lake County Prosecutor, asked Murray to join his team. Beginning in the juvenile division, he quickly worked his way up the ranks. Within a year, he had risen to the coveted Felony Prosecutor Division.  Prosecutor LaTourette said at that time “In football they often talk of a “go-to guy” and whenever we needed a win, I was confident to put the ball in Murray’s hands.”

During his years with the prosecutor’s office, Michael Murray tried many cases, including murders, rapes, burglaries and robberies. He received numerous awards while in office and even appeared on Court TV with his successful prosecution in the Daffodil Trial.

In 1996, Murray left the prosecutor’s office to begin private practice with the law firm of Redmond and Walker in Painesville, Ohio. Ed Redmond was a famous probate lawyer at the time, and Murray had the honor of learning much about the probate system from him. Due to Murray’s contributions, the firm was renamed Redmond Walker and Murray.

During his tenure at Redmond, Walker and Murray, Michael Murray tried cases with much success. A highlight of his time with the firm was when he was appointed by the Common Pleas Court as a Special Attorney representing the interest of a young girl whose family was killed in a house fire. He negotiated a great result from the insurance companies after a year-long battle.  Not afraid of litigating, he also argued three cases in the Ohio Supreme Court on constitutional issues while at the firm.

In 2008, Murray partnered with Jeffrey H. Black to create the law firm of Murray and Black. Throughout his practice, Michael Murray has tried nearly 100 jury trials and has represented numerous clients on various issues, representing defendants for crimes ranging from drunk driving to murder.  He went to trial on the largest drug dealing case in Lake County history and won the largest medical malpractice verdict ever in the county.

During the course of his career, Murray has been legal counsel to various organizations, including Lake Geauga United Head Start, the Village of Madison Ohio and Madison Fire District. He also represents numerous corporate clients and has long served as legal counsel for the Ohio License Beverage Association, representing numerous bars and beverage distributors in the Lake Geauga and Ashtabula County areas.

Michael Murray works hard on every case often saying that “every client’s case is important to me. There is no substitution for hard work. Over the years, I’ve found that the harder I work, the luckier I get.”