Patrick O. Dunphy is a co-founder of Cannon & Dunphy S.C., a firm dedicated to representing persons injured by the negligence of others since 1985. Dunphy has more than 40 years of trial experience. He has record-setting verdicts and awards ranging from $9.8 million to $35.3 million.
He has pursued cases against law enforcement and jailers that resulted in some of the largest settlements in Wisconsin for violations of individuals’ constitutional rights. A number of those cases have resulted in changes to Wisconsin law mandating transfer of a prisoner’s medications along with the transfer of the prisoner, and legislation requiring an independent law enforcement agency review officer-involved shootings.
Attorney Dunphy represented a young woman who was the victim of a health system failure to diagnose her cervical cancer. The system had contracted its pap smear interpretations to an independent contractor, cytotechnologist. Attorney Dunphy uncovered billings that proved the cytotechnologist was reading more than 4 times the recommended maximum number of smears per year. The case was covered nationally, reported by 20-20, the New York Times and national magazines. Because of Attorney Dunphy’s work, more than 200 women’s pap smears were re-read and misdiagnoses were caught in time.
In 2015 Attorney Dunphy successfully sued a Wisconsin licensed gun dealer for an illegal gun sale that resulted in injuries to two Milwaukee Police Officers. It is the only verdict in the country against a licensed gun dealer for injuries resulting from a straw sale since a federal gun dealer immunity law called the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act became law in 2005. The case was covered nationally by the New York Times, Washington Post, Time Magazine, CNN, MSNBC, FoxNews, ABC, NBC, CBS, and internationally by The Guardian and the BBC World News.
Attorney Dunphy is Past President of the Wisconsin Academy of Trial Lawyers (now the Wisconsin Association for Justice), a statewide organization of plaintiff’s trial attorneys. In 2015 WAJ awarded Attorney Dunphy its President’s Award for outstanding trial work. He is an invited member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, a national organization of plaintiffs’ attorneys, limited to 100 of the best plaintiffs’ attorneys in the United States.
He is also an invited member of the International Society of Barristers and the American Board of Trial Advocates. Martindale Hubbell has certified Attorney Dunphy as one of the “Best Lawyers in America” and the National Board of Trial Advocacy has certified him as a Civil Trial Specialist. Law Dragon named Attorney Dunphy as one of the Top 50 plaintiff trial lawyers and one of the Top 500 attorneys in the United States. He has consistently been named one of the Top 3 Super Lawyers in Wisconsin. Best Lawyers in America named Attorney Dunphy as the Lawyer of the Year, Plaintiffs Personal Injury Litigation in Milwaukee in 2010 and 2012. In 2009 the Wisconsin Law Journal named Attorney Dunphy one of its “Leaders in the Law” and in 2014 Marquette University Law School named him its Law School Alumnus of the Year.
In addition to his legal work, Attorney Dunphy has been active in his community. He served as Board Chair of Marquette University High School and Chairman of its Capital Campaign. He has been involved in fundraising for the Hunger Task Force and is Board Chair of the Guest House, homeless shelter, and clinic.
