Attorney Joe Murphy Doesn't Dance Around Ethics

It’s easy for Joseph E. Murphy, Haddonfield benefactor, history enthusiast and dancer extraordinaire, to catch you off guard. He’s chatty and funny. He collects election memorabilia and loves to show it off. He wears period clothes when he shows up at the historic Indian King Tavern.

Murphy’s heart beats to the tempo of ballroom dancing and for more than a decade he’s the shaker behind Dance Haddonfield, a group of as many as 100 adults who meet each Sunday night at . Admission to the event is $12 and includes a lesson at 7 p.m. that will not terrify beginners. The dance itself starts at 8 p.m. (An advanced lesson starts at 6 p.m.).

But there’s a lot more to Murphy than floating footwork and a checkbook. He’s an internationally recognized and sought-after expert on the befuddling topic of compliance and ethics.

“I work with organizations to help them stay out of trouble,” says Murphy, 63, a slightly built man and solo legal practitioner with enough personality for a team.

As co-founder of Integrity Interactive Corporation and now as counsel to Compliance Systems Legal Group, he’s worked in the field of organizational compliance and ethics for more than 30 years. He’s a co-editor of ethikos, a bi-monthly publication on corporate compliance and ethics, and he’s on the board of the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics.

Murphy said the parameters of his life range from global (he’s been to six continents on compliance assignments) to four square blocks, the radius between his office, his home, the Indian King Tavern, and the Haddonfield Historical Society. He was Haddonfield’s Citizen of the Year in 2010. 

He is a steady and generous participant in borough activities. Murphy was born in Philadelphia, grew up in Williamstown, and has owned a Haddonfield home known as both the Steamboat and the Gingerbread house since 1979.

This summer, a donation he made to the Historical Society led to the completion of a pergola on their grounds on Kings Highway. He has chaired the tourism committee of the Haddonfield Business and Professional Association and pushed to set up the Friends of Indian King Tavern. Murphy credits the volunteer spirit of Haddonfield for the town’s personality but emphasizes that spirit grows from “Greater Haddonfield,” including many who are not residents.

Murphy said he started dancing because he felt he should get involved in a physical activity. “It was dancing or bike riding, but on a bike, you’re by yourself and I wanted the social interaction.” 

You can’t dance without meeting people.

“And when you’re dancing, you don’t need a helmet,” Murphy said.