Ethical Considerations & Best Practices for Lawyers Transitioning to Other Roles 2026

Judge Mary P. Murray is a Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge having been elected in November of 2017. Judge Murray graduated from Duquesne University in 1992 with a B.S./B.A. in marketing and a minor in psychology. In 1993, she began a joint MBA/J.D.program at Duquesne University, graduating in December of 1995 with her MBA and in May of 1996 with her Juris Doctorate. While at Duquesne Law School, she completed an internship for Judge Joseph L. Cosetti, S.J. for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. She later worked as a research professor for Jagdeep Bhandari, working on immigration matters and research on economic damages in wrongful death and survival actions. Prior to her election to the Superior Court, Judge Murray served the borough of Coraopolis and the townships of Crescent, Moon and Neville as Magisterial District Judge from 2004 through 2017. During this time, she heard over 75,000 civil, criminal, traffic and non-traffic cases. Before being elected as a Magisterial District Judge, Judge Murray worked for various general practice law firms and LandAmerica. During that time, she handled cases involving commercial and residential real estate matters, estate planning and administration, family, civil and municipal law. She clerked in Beaver County for the late Judges Joseph S. Walko, Thomas C. Mannix and James E. Rowley. Since graduating from law school in 1996, until 2017, Judge Murray has maintained a private estate planning and administration practice. Judge Mary P. Murray was appointed to the Minor Court Rules Committee in 2008, serving six years and chairing the committee from 2012-2014. She is member of the Allegheny, Beaver, Florida and Pennsylvania Bar Associations. She was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court and the Western District of Pennsylvania. While serving as a Magisterial District Judge, Judge Murray was extremely active in both the Allegheny County Special Court Judges’ Association, having served as President, Director, Vice-President and Secretary; and on the Pennsylvania Special Court Judges Association, chairing the Rules Committee and serving on both the Computer and Court Administration Committees. She serves on the Board of Governors of Amen Corner and was President from 2019-2022. Judge Murray is a member of B.P.O. Elks #1090 and has served Presiding Justice for the organization. She is a former member of the Airport Area Chamber of Commerce. She was appointed in 2022 to Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish Council and continues to serve as a lector and Eucharistic Minister. She was appointed as Auditor of Moon Township in 1998and was elected to a six-year term in 1999, serving until elected as a Magisterial District Judge in 2003. Judge Murray was appointed in 2023 to the Appellate Rules Committee. She is a member of PBA Legal Career Transitions and criminal committees. She has served as a Vice-Chair of the Legal Career Transitions Committee since 2022.

Ms. White is currently Ethics Counsel to the Pennsylvania Bar Association. As Ethics Counsel, Ms. White responds to Ethics Hotline inquiries from PBA members who have questions concerning the impact of the provisions of the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct upon their own prospective conduct. Ms. White also assists the PBA’s Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee, which issues written ethics opinions and reviews and recommends proposals for changes to the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct. In addition to staffing the Ethics Committee, Ms. White is the staff liaison to the PBA Civility in the Profession Committee. She also serves as the Associate Editor of the Pennsylvania Ethics Handbook, a useful guide to the professional responsibility obligations of practicing Pennsylvania lawyers. Prior to joining the PBA, Ms. White served as Assistant Counsel for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission, practiced for several years in the private sector, and was a staff attorney in the solicitor’s office for a local municipality. Ms. White received her B.A. from Franklin & Marshall College and her J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law.

Ellen serves as the Law Practice Management Coordinator for the Pennsylvania Bar Association. In that capacity she assists PBA’s members with management issues and decisions on the business side of their practice, including areas like technology, financial management and profitability, human resources, marketing, risk management, setting up a practice and so forth. PBA members are encouraged to contact Ellen through the 800 “Hot Line” at PBA headquarters, (800-932-0311 x2228) or through email ([email protected]). Ellen is founder and President of Freedman Consulting, which assists PA law firms with a full range of issues and projects on the business side of the practice. More information about Ellen and her law practice management services may be obtained at http:www.FreedmanLPM.com. Ellen holds the designation of Certified Legal Manager through the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA), the credentialing body for the CLM degree. Of the 11,000+ members of the ALA, approximately 300 are certified legal managers. Ellen was one of the first 20 in the nation to have achieved this designation. She holds a Certification in Computer Programming from Maxwell Institute, and a Certification in Web Site Design and a B.A. from Temple University. Ellen was inducted as a Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management in October 2020. Membership in the College is by invitation only. Eligible nominees include those who have made significant contributions to the field of law practice management for over ten years. Since its establishment over twenty years ago, nearly 300 practitioners from 5 different countries have become Fellows of the College. Ellen managed inside law firms for twenty years. Most of that time was spent in a midsize (35+ attorney) firm environment. She launched her consulting practice in 1998 and joined the Pennsylvania Bar Association in 1999. She was a member of the Association of Legal Administrators for over 20 years and founded the Independence Chapter. She is a frequent author and speaker on law firm management issues on a national level.