Bree Murphy Awarded the 2025 Gayle O’Connor Spirit Award
Bree Murphy
MINNEAPOLIS, MN, UNITED STATES, December 18, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Committee for the Gayle O’Connor Spirit Award announced Bree Murphy as the 2025 recipient for the award on December 16, 2025, at the award event hosted on the EDRM Global Webinar Channel.
Bree is a Senior Solutions Consultant at Exterro, but her influence in our profession extends far beyond that. Through her leadership in the legal tech community, her involvement with the ACEDS Houston Chapter and Women in eDiscovery™, her work to engage paralegals and law students, and her co-hosting of eDiscovery Chicks, Bree exemplifies the true spirit of Gayle O'Connor.
“To say I am honored does not fully capture the gratitude I feel in receiving the Gayle O’Connor Spirit Award," said Bree Murphy. "I deeply admire Gayle’s legacy and hope to encourage others to live unapologetically as their authentic selves while being a light to those around them. The Legal Tech community has long been a place of encouragement, innovation, and belonging, and I am grateful to help foster an inclusive space where we can all grow and learn together.”
The 2025 Finalists were Shannon Bales, Senior Litigation Support Manager at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP; Craig Ball, Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Texas at Austin and General Counsel of EDRM; Bree Murphy, Senior Solutions Engineer at Exterro; and Joy Heath Rush, CEO of the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA).
"As a valued member of our EDRM 2.0 Committee, Bree brings the same warmth, energy, and collaborative spirit that makes her such a deserving recipient of this honor," said Shannon Bales, finalist and co-project trustee. "Her commitment to advancing our profession while lifting others along the way perfectly captures what the Gayle O'Connor Spirit Award represents."
Founded in 2021, the Gayle O’Connor Spirit Award celebrates e-discovery and legal technology community members whose singular energy, enthusiasm, and verve echo the spirit of the late Gayle O'Connor (1956-2020). The GO Spirit Award recipients have contributed to e-discovery, legal technology, information governance, cybersecurity, or data privacy through efforts that inspire, educate, or promote our community's common interest and cohesion.
Recipients of the GO Spirit Award are individuals in the legal profession who best exemplify Gayle O'Connor's spirit and work ethic by serving as an example for other individuals in the profession through attitude, collegiality, energy, and accomplishments, thereby serving as a positive example for not just those in the legal industry but all people. Each recipient's efforts inspire, educate, or promote the common interest and cohesion of our community.
“It was a great pleasure to name Bree as our 2025 winner. Her enthusiasm, spirit, and energy make her a wonderful example of what the GO Spirit Award is all about,” said Tom O’Connor, Director of the Gulf Coast Legal Technology Center and Gayle’s husband. “As one of her nominators said: ‘Bree is one of those people who makes you smile as soon as you see her because she's always smiling.’ She is always trying to do something to bring paralegal and law students into legal tech and to help others advance their careers. As her LinkedIn profile says, she is a true connoisseur of all things legal tech.”
The 2025 Gayle O’Connor Spirit Award was presented on December 16, 2025, at 1PM Eastern, in an awards ceremony webinar hosted by EDRM. A recording of the ceremony is available here: Presentation of the 2025 Winner of the GO Spirit Award.
The Gayle O’Connor Spirit Award Committee includes Cat Casey of Technocat LLC, Sheila Grela of Buchalter, Monica Harris of the American Arbitration Association, David Horrigan of Relativity, Joy Murao of Practice Aligned Resources, Tom O’Connor of the Gulf Coast Legal Technology Center, Maribel Rivera of ACEDS, and Seamus O'Connor, Hosted Services Specialist at Platinum Intelligent Data Systems. Nomination forms for 2026 will be available in January.
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