A Great Practice Great Life Transformation with John Murphy

How Older Attorneys Can Successfully Restart Their Legal Careers


Rebooting your law career can feel like an impossible mountain to climb–especially if you’ve already established yourself in your community. But it’s probably time to make a significant change if your practice isn’t giving you the joy or freedom you believed it would or should.

If you’re an older attorney, making the shift may not make sense. But if you don’t want the latter years of your career to look like the beginning years did, it’s time to switch things up and stop believing the narrative that it’s too late to change how your career and life look.

In this episode of Great Practice. Great Life.®, John Murphy, founder and owner of Safe Harbor Wills & Trusts in Syracuse, New York, is Steve’s guest. At 51 years old, John started over from scratch after some events in his personal life left him reeling and needing a change. He started a new practice focused on Medicaid, estate planning, and probate services, where he eventually met and hired his team leader, Marie Tricarico.

John’s personal tragedies led him to take back his time and freedom, and his story is inspiring to anyone who believes they can’t start anew in their 50s.


Inside This Episode

  • How a Medicaid class and some family events led John to start his Safe Harbor practice at 51
  • Why his practice has only one other person other than his associate attorney who previously worked in law, and what his vision for his practice was
  • The two core things that helped him find his niche and reinvent his life
  • The importance of goal-setting and time management in Safe Harbor’s growth and why John decided not to be a transactional commodity shop
  • Two things he implemented at his office to create a dramatic turnaround in his practice and his life
  • Why marketing is his next business journey and what he’s looking for
  • How traveling more has improved both his business and personal lives
  • What John would say to himself as he walked out the door of his old practice and what his new goals are
  • The empathy and listening skills John has gained from practicing law and what excites him for what the next ten years could bring

Supporting Resources

Steve Riley

Steve Riley

Shareholder, Practice Advisor, & Attorney Steve Riley has coached attorneys for more than 20 years. His one-on-one coaching focuses on a limited number of top producing attorneys committed to taking their practices to new levels of excellence, profit, and personal success. He also presents at group coaching workshops around the country for individual law firms, state bar associations, and other legal organizations. READ MY FULL BIO

Most popular

growth strategies for attorneys with Valerie Peterson

10 Growth Strategies for Attorneys with Valerie Peterson

Law Firm Hiring Strategies for Busy Lawyers with Rose Hutchinson

Decision-Making Strategies for Attorneys

Thinking About Rebooting Your Law Career?

Schedule a free consultation with Atticus to explore how our proven coaching programs can guide you toward greater success, resilience, and balance.

Listen to Our Other Podcast

Scroll to Top