A long-time judge in Grand Rapids has been elected president of a national legal association.

Judge William Murphy, of the Third District of the Michigan Court of Appeals in downtown Grand Rapids, has been named president of the Council of Chief Judges of the State Courts of Appeal, or CCJSCA.

CCJSCA is dedicated to improving the administration of justice in state appellate courts.

He will serve a one-year term, which began on Nov. 15.

Murphy, a member of the State Bar of Michigan and Grand Rapids Bar Association, has served as a judge for the Michigan Court of Appeals since 1988.

He's also been an adjunct professor at Western Michigan University Cooley Law School since 2011.

Previously, he was an adjunct professor at the Michigan State University Detroit College of Law and the founding partner at Murphy, Burns and McInerney, a civil and criminal trial firm in Grand Rapids.

He has also served as an attorney at Rhoades McKee in Grand Rapids and as a law clerk for the Michigan Court of Appeals. 

Murphy has received several awards, including the Michigan Association for Justice Judicial Excellence Award and National Center for State Courts Distinguished Service Award.

Over his career, he has served in a variety of legal leadership positions: the State Bar of Michigan Board of Commissioners, District C; Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission; board of the Michigan State Bar Foundation; Michigan delegation for the National Conference on Racial and Ethnic Bias; Judicial Executive Committee and Strategic Planning Committee for the Michigan Justice Project; chief judge pro tem for the Michigan Court of Appeals; and chief judge of the Michigan Court of Appeals.

Murphy holds a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University and a law degree from Wayne State University, cum laude.