Program on Law & Government

Kathleen A. Murphy

Kathleen A. Murphy is Chief Counsel for the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Energy.  DLA provides worldwide logistics support in peacetime and war to the Military Services, as well as federal civilian agencies and foreign governments. DLA Energy is located at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

Ms. Murphy is the principal legal advisor to the DLA Energy Commander and is responsible for providing the full range of legal services to DLA Energy’s petroleum and energy-related procurement programs, including contract awards, bid protests, contract disputes, ethics, employment law, and contractor business integrity. Ms. Murphy’s extensive Government Contract Law experience includes representing DLA Energy in bid protests filed at the Government Accountability Office (GAO), litigating before the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, and participating in alternative dispute resolution proceedings. 

Ms. Murphy’s duties as DLA Energy’s Deputy Designated Agency Ethics Official include providing individual advice and guidance regarding ethics and standards of conduct to senior leaders and members of DLA Energy’s acquisition workforce, and delivering presentations on current and evolving standards.  Ms. Murphy also participates in DLA Office of General Counsel CLE programs for attorneys assigned throughout DLA’s worldwide activities.

From June 2004 through April 2005, Ms. Murphy served as the Associate General Counsel for Acquisition at the DLA Office of General Counsel.  In this capacity, Ms. Murphy provided legal advice to DLA’s Senior Procurement Executive/Component Acquisition Executive and reviewed all protests filed at the GAO and Agency responses thereto involving all DLA procurements. 

Ms. Murphy is an Adjunct Professor at American University Washington College of Law, where she teaches Formation of Government Contracts. She graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1984 and received her J.D. degree from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law in 1987.  She was admitted to the Virginia State Bar in 1987 and joined DLA in September 1987.