Lionel Murphy was educated at Kensington Public School, Sydney High School and the University of Sydney. He was admitted to the NSW Bar in 1947, to the Victorian Bar in 1958, and became a QC in 1960. 

He joined the Australian Labor Party in 1946 and in 1962 was elected Senator for NSW.  In February 1967 Murphy became the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate.  After the election of the Whitlam Labor Government he became the Attorney-General and Minister for Customs and Excise (19 December 1972 – 10 February 1975) he was also the Leader of the Government in the Senate.  Murphy held these positions until February 1975 when he was appointed to the High Court.

From 1963 he was a member of the executive of the International Commission of Jurists, Australian Section.  He was also a member of the Federal Executive and Federal Conference of the ALP, Chairman of the ALP Legal and Constitutional Committee from 1967, Chairman of the ALP Arts and Media Committee from 1970, a member of the ALP Standing Committee on Civil Liberties.  

Lionel Murphy represented the Prime Minister at the funeral of the former US President Lyndon B Johnson in Washington in January 1973.  In April 1973 he visited France for Ministerial discussions on the proposed French nuclear tests in the Pacific and in May 1973 presented Australia's case to the International Court of Justice at the Hague against the proposed French tests.
 
Lionel Murphy died on 21 October 1986.

Agency associated with person unregistered

1968-1968: United Nations Conference on Human Rights, Teheran -
           delegate 
1969-1973: Council of Australian National University - Senate
           representative
1969-1970: Joint Select Committee on the new and permanent Parliament
           House - Member
1973-1973: Commonwealth Law Ministers Conference, London -
           representative