Murley_Susan

Susan W. Murley

Partner

  • Co-Managing Partner

Susan Murley is a co-managing partner of the firm, as well as a partner in the Corporate Practice Group. She is a member of the firm’s Management Committee. Ms. Murley previously served as chair of the Transactional Department, chair of the Corporate Practice Group and chair of the firm’s Hiring Committee. She is also a former member of the Executive Committee. Ms. Murley joined the firm in 1986.

Ms. Murley has more than 25 years of experience in representing private and public companies in the technology, life sciences and finance sectors, among others. She concentrates her practice primarily in the areas of corporate finance, mergers and acquisition, corporate governance and general corporate counseling. 

Ms. Murley has represented companies and underwriters in more than 75 initial and follow-on public offerings, and has led a number of transactions in the mergers and acquisitions area, the private issuances of securities and license and distribution agreements.

Ms. Murley is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association and the Boston Bar Association.

  • Boston Globe Names WilmerHale a Top Women-Led Business for the Tenth Consecutive Year

    Produced in partnership with The Women’s Edge, the list recognizes “the women power players of the Bay State” and the businesses that they run. The businesses named to the exclusive list underwent a rigorous evaluation of their workforce, operating budget, management diversity and innovative projects. 

    October 31, 2022
    Read More
  • Susan Murley Recognized in Corporate Counsel’s National Women in Law Awards

    WilmerHale Co-Managing Partner Susan Murley was named in Corporate Counsel’s 2018 National Woman in Law Awards, which honor those who have demonstrated a commitment to empowerment of women in law.

    August 15, 2018
    Read More

Experience

  • Public Company Clients

    Akamai Technologies

    Aspect Medical Systems

    BioSphere Medical

    The First Marblehead Corporation

    NxStage Medical

    Idenix Pharmaceuticals

    Sepracor Inc.

  • Representative Transactions

    Many life sciences and high technology industry public offerings for both issuers and underwriters

    Venture capital financing for companies in the biotechnology, medical device and technology industries

    A wide range of merger and acquisition transactions, including acquisitions and dispositions of numerous public and private companies

    Strategic alliances in the life sciences industry

    General corporate and securities law advice to companies and boards of directors

Recognition

  • Award Text

    Named to Hall of Fame

    Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly

    2023

  • Award Text

    Selected for the Lifetime Achievement Award

    New England Legal Awards

    2023

  • Award Text

    Named A Law Firm Transformative Leader

    Corporate Counsel

    2018

  • Named to the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly inaugural Hall of Fame class. This honor is awarded to Massachusetts-based lawyers with amassing career accomplishments, who have contributed to the development of law and improved the quality of justice in Massachusetts.
  • Selected for a Lifetime Achievement award for leaving a lasting imprint on the legal community in American Lawyer Media’s 2023 New England Legal Awards.
  • Named Managing Partner of the Year  in Corporate Counsel’s Women, Influence & Power in Law Awards 2023.
  • Selected by peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America for corporate governance law (2023–2024).
  • Featured as a part of The Boston Globe and The Women’s Edge (formerly known as The Commonwealth Institute) annual Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts from 2013–2023.
  • Named a Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyer – independently rated and selected by clients (2023).
  • Named to Boston Magazine’s inaugural Top Lawyers list in 2021 and 2022 in the area of corporate law.
  • Recognized by Corporate Counsel’s 2018 National Woman in Law Awards in the Law Firm Transformative Leadership category.
  • Named among the “Top Women Attorneys in Massachusetts in 2016,” and selected as a “Massachusetts Super Lawyer” for business law in the 2004–2006, 2012–2015 and 2018 issues of Boston Magazine.
  • Named to The National Law Journal’s inaugural list of “Outstanding Women Lawyers” in 2015.
  • Selected as a “Top Women of Law” by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly in September 2011.

Insights & News

Credentials

  • Education

    • JD, University of Virginia School of Law, 1986

    • BA, Tufts University, 1981

      summa cum laude Phi Beta Kappa
  • Admissions

    • Massachusetts

    • England and Wales, Registered Foreign Lawyer

Credentials