Attorney Profiles
James J. Murphy
Don C. Prachthauser
Kevin J. Kukor
Melita M. Biese
Keith R. Stachowiak
Thadd J. Llaurado
Mark D. Baus
Gail Brown
Moses J. Zimmermann
Trial Practice
Mr. Murphy is a founding partner of the firm. He started his professional career concentrating on trial work, first with the U.S. Department of Justice, and then moved to the Milwaukee County District Attorney's office. Upon entering private practice, he has focused on personal injury cases involving serious injuries caused by defective products, unsafe premises, car accidents, medical malpractice, and other forms of negligence. He represents clients nationally, and has participated in cases in Arkansas, California , Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada , Pennsylvania, Utah, and Wisconsin.
Professional Activities & Honors
Mr. Murphy's distinguished career includes the Presidency of the Wisconsin Academy of Trial Lawyers, the Milwaukee Bar Association, and the Milwaukee Junior Bar. He has also held executive positions with the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and the State Bar of Wisconsin. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Attorneys Information Exchange Group and Chairs its Roof Crush Subgroup.
Mr. Murphy has prosecuted automotive crashworthiness cases based on theories of rollover and roof crush, defective seatbelts, post-crash fire, rollover instability, and defective door latches. He has successfully represented clients against General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Nissan and Isuzu, including: Hughes v. GM, venued in the Central District Court 9th Circuit, for $8,500,000 and Brabender v. Chrysler, venued in Madison, Wisconsin, for $5,000,000. Other product liability injury cases successfully handled by Mr. Murphy include work-place injuries, motorcycle crashworthiness, ATVs, swimming pools and defective forklifts.
Mr. Murphy has also dealt with personal injury claims relating to premises liability and security issues. In the recent case of Caranto v. Wal-Mart, tried in Las Vegas, Nevada, he collected a total of $11.4 million for a husband and wife, when the husband sustained a brain injury after being struck by merchandise falling off a riser. In another recent case, he won a jury verdict of $2.2 million for a client injured in a fireworks explosion.
Mr. Murphy is one of the country's most successful trial lawyers, and his achievements have been widely recognized, including The Best Lawyers in America, Markham's Negligence Counsel, Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Pre-eminent Lawyers, Town & Country's Guide: The Best Lawyers in the US, and Milwaukee Magazine.
Education
Mr. Murphy obtained his bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1957. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School with honors in 1959. As a senior law student, he served as an assistant legal writing instructor for underclassmen.
Lectures
As well as lecturing before most of the aforementioned organizations, Mr. Murphy has spoken for the American Board of Trial Advocates, National Education Network, Law Education Institute, and Institute for Continuing Legal Education.
Background
Mr. Murphy was born in West Allis, Wisconsin, in 1933. He was Assistant District Attorney for Milwaukee County from 1961-1964. He currently resides in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with his wife Joanne. Their daughter, Beth, is a social worker in New York City.
Email address: jmurphy@murphyprachthauser.com
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Phone: (414) 271-1011
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