John Murphy
LEGALZOOM.COMAbout John Murphy
John Murphy (age 56) is LegalZoom’s Lead Independent Director (since July 2024), an independent director since 2021, Audit Committee Chair, and a member of the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee . He previously served as EVP & CFO of Adobe (2018–2021), and as Adobe’s SVP, Chief Accounting Officer & Corporate Controller (2017–2018); prior roles include Chief Accounting Officer at Qualcomm and senior finance roles at DIRECTV, Experian, Nestlé, and ARCO . He holds a B.S. in Accounting (Fordham University) and an MBA (USC Marshall) . Murphy also serves on the boards of Pure Storage (NYSE: PSTG) and Roper Technologies (Nasdaq: ROP) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Inc. | EVP & Chief Financial Officer | 2018–2021 | Senior finance leadership and scaling processes |
| Adobe Inc. | SVP, Chief Accounting Officer & Corporate Controller | 2017–2018 | Financial reporting, controls |
| Qualcomm Inc. | SVP, Chief Accounting Officer & Corporate Controller | 2014–2017 | Corporate controller leadership |
| DIRECTV Inc. | SVP, Controller & Chief Accounting Officer | 2007–2014 | Corporate controller leadership |
| DIRECTV Inc. | VP & General Auditor | 2004–2007 | Internal audit leadership |
| Experian; Nestlé; ARCO | Various finance and accounting roles | Prior to 2004 | Global finance experience |
| DirecTV Holdings LLC (private) | Director | 2007–2014 | Board service |
External Roles
| Company | Role | Committee Roles (if disclosed) |
|---|---|---|
| Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE: PSTG) | Director | Not disclosed in LZ proxy |
| Roper Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: ROP) | Director | Not disclosed in LZ proxy |
Board Governance
- Independence: The Board determined Murphy is independent under Nasdaq rules .
- Roles: Lead Independent Director (since July 2024) with responsibilities including setting agendas for independent sessions, coordinating with committee chairs, and acting as liaison to the CEO/Chair .
- Committees: Audit Committee Chair; Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee member; designated an Audit Committee Financial Expert .
- Attendance: The Board met 8 times in 2024; all current directors attended at least 75% of Board and committee meetings during their service; Audit/Comp/Nominating met 5/7/5 times, respectively .
- Executive sessions: Regular executive sessions of independent directors chaired by the Lead Independent Director .
- Policies: Anti-hedging/pledging prohibition for directors and officers; robust ownership guidelines for non-employee directors; annual Board/committee evaluations .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 Director Cash Fees (Murphy) | $67,615 | Includes Board, committee, and chair retainers |
| 2024 Director Stock Awards (Murphy) | $178,548 | Time-vested RSUs; ASC 718 grant-date fair value |
| 2024 Total Director Compensation (Murphy) | $246,163 | Cash + equity |
Director fee schedule (Eligible Director Compensation Policy):
- Board retainer: $35,000; Lead Independent Director retainer: $51,500 (inclusive) .
- Committee member retainers: Audit $10,000; Compensation $7,500; Nominating $5,000 .
- Committee chair retainers (inclusive): Audit $20,000; Compensation $15,000; Nominating $10,000 .
- Annual director equity: RSUs targeting $200,000; annual grant vests at next annual meeting or first anniversary; initial grants vest over three years; Change in Control accelerates vesting .
Ownership alignment:
- Non-employee director ownership guideline: 5x annual cash Board retainer within five years; post-phase-in, must retain 100% of net shares from vesting until in compliance .
Performance Compensation
| Performance-conditioned director pay | Status |
|---|---|
| PSUs/options/performance-linked equity for directors | None disclosed; director equity grants are time-vested RSUs per policy |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
- Current public company boards: Pure Storage (PSTG); Roper Technologies (ROP) .
- Compensation Committee interlocks: None—LZ discloses no interlocks or insider participation for its Compensation Committee .
- Related-party transactions: LZ disclosed no related person transactions involving directors/officers beyond those described; no Murphy-specific transactions disclosed (policy vests review with Audit Committee) .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Financial expertise: Audit Committee Financial Expert; former public company CFO; deep accounting, controls, and risk oversight background .
- Technology and operations: Senior roles across software, communications, and consumer tech (Adobe, Qualcomm, DIRECTV); experience scaling organizations and modernizing processes .
- Governance: Lead Independent Director experience; board leadership and committee oversight .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Shares Beneficially Owned | % of Outstanding | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Murphy | 64,033 | <1% | As of April 10, 2025; based on 181,184,393 shares outstanding |
| Murphy RSUs Outstanding (12/31/2024) | 21,080 | — | Unvested time-based RSUs outstanding at year-end 2024 |
- Anti-hedging/pledging: Company policy prohibits hedging and pledging by directors and officers .
- Ownership guideline: 5x annual cash retainer; individual compliance status not disclosed .
Governance Assessment
Strengths
- Lead Independent Director with clear authorities, enhancing oversight under combined CEO/Chair structure .
- Audit Chair and Audit Committee Financial Expert; strong financial controls and ERM/cybersecurity oversight remit .
- Independence affirmed; attendance threshold met; regular executive sessions reinforce independent oversight .
- Director pay heavily equity-based (time-vested RSUs) with stringent stock ownership guidelines, aligning interests with shareholders .
- No hedging/pledging allowed; no Murphy-related party transactions disclosed .
Watch items
- Combined CEO/Chair model requires continued strong Lead Independent Director engagement; Murphy’s role partially mitigates this .
- Time-based RSU grants for directors lack explicit performance conditions (common market practice but lower direct pay-for-performance signal for directors) .
- Multiple public boards: Murphy serves on two additional public boards (PSTG, ROP), within LZ’s overboarding limit (max 4) but entails workload balancing .
Contextual shareholder signals
- 2024 say-on-pay approval exceeded 81%; targeted investor outreach in 2024; Board implemented compensation design changes emphasizing PSUs for executives and TSR linkage (reflects responsiveness) .