Local. Trusted. Experienced.

Murphy & Prachthauser has practiced personal injury law and represented those injured by the negligence of others in southeastern Wisconsin. With experience, compassion, and a successful track record of multi-million dollar awards and settlements, our team works together to help you navigate emotional and difficult legal matters.

Good Lawyers Who Help You Get Results.

We pride ourselves on being good lawyers who help people. From your very first meeting, you can expect to meet with an attorney directly who can help answer your questions and put you at ease. We’re both lawyers and counselors, and we take our role as counselors very seriously. Informed by over a hundred years of collective experience, we strive to provide our clients with the most information and the best advice. We pride ourselves on maintaining regular contact with our clients, keeping them informed as to the progress of their case and helping them cope with problems that arise. Discussions about important decisions are conducted face to face, not over the telephone. That’s why we have multiple offices to make it convenient for you to meet with us whenever necessary. We are proud to help our clients get results with compassion and expertise.

Verdicts and settlements

Lawyers that Get Results

At Murphy & Prachthauser, we’re proud of every successful judgment, verdict, and settlement we achieve for our clients.

$11.4M

$11.4 million award for injured Air Force member, who suffered brain injuries due to falling merchandise at a Las Vegas Wal-Mart Store.

v. Wal-Mart, U.S. District Court for Nevada

$5M

A jury trial that resulted in a $5 million settlement (reached while jury deliberated) due to defective roof system on Chrysler vehicle.

v. Chrysler. Dane County Circuit Court

$16.8M

$16.8 million award for auto accident case resulting in quadriplegia with a verdict affirmed on appeal.

v. Catholic Mutual and Archdiocese of Milwaukee

Cases with Merit

Each of our client’s cases is unique, and we do not guarantee “quick cash” or “fast settlement.” We carefully screen potential cases to make sure there is a strong basis for a claim. Insurance companies know that when we’re representing an injured person, they’re dealing with aggressive lawyers who come prepared for trial, which is the best way to obtain fair settlements. Although some cases are resolved within months of the injury, some take longer depending on numerous factors including the severity of the injury and duration of medical treatment. 

We’re all in

When an insurance company takes an unreasonable view of the case, lawsuits and trials may be necessary to see that our clients receive just compensation. Lawsuits can take time, but we’re trial lawyers and will do whatever is necessary to achieve justice for our clients—we will never settle a case or start a lawsuit without the client’s permission.

Respected by the Community

Many of our clients are referred to us by doctors, judges and other lawyers, including lawyers who defend insurance companies. People familiar with our work recommend us to their family and friends.

The Murphy & Prachthauser Team Approach

We have at least two lawyers participate in the preparation and trial of many cases. Why? Because it adds a second perspective to decisions that have to be made in every trial.  Our team approach divides our work and helps us make your trial move at a steady pace. Plus, we’ve found that both jurors and the judge appreciate that we do not waste their time, and this in turn helps us achieve better results for you. This has been our approach since we first opened our doors—over three decades ago—and continues to be successful for us.

We’re Not Afraid to Challenge

When we get an unjust or incorrect decision we are not afraid to challenge that decision in the Court of Appeals or Supreme Court. For more than 30 years, we’ve gone the extra mile to challenge court decisions we believe are incorrect interpretations of the law violating our client’s rights. Our team has been successful in convincing appellate courts to strike down unjust laws or create laws that benefit injured persons throughout both the state and country.

Honors and Distinctions

Martindale-Hubbell® Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers

Our Personal Injury law firm is listed in this publication which serves as “the definitive directory about the legal profession’s top practitioners.” It lists only law firms that “have been designated by their colleagues as preeminent in their field” and only “the most highly-regarded attorneys practicing today.” Unlike other publications and Internet legal directories, law firms cannot pay for this rating.

AV Rated in Martindale-Hubbell® Law Director

The Law Directory is published “with a company imperative to publish fair and accurate ratings for as many lawyers as possible.” Reviews are done each year and are developed by “soliciting confidential opinions from members of the Bar and Judiciary”. “AV” is the highest rating any law firm can achieve, and similar to the Bar Register, a firm cannot pay to attain a particular rating. Our Personal Injury Lawyer firm has received this coveted AV rating.

The Best Lawyers in America

The Best Lawyers in America is a guide created by two Harvard lawyers. The most recent edition is 2009. The guide introduces potential clients to “the best legal talent” and “best lawyers in the United States.” An attorney cannot pay to be listed. Rather, judges and attorneys are surveyed, and through this process a lawyer may be listed in their field of law, e.g., personal injury.

Named in all Milwaukee Magazine Surveys of Milwaukee’s Best Lawyers

Called “Ace Attorneys,” named as “The Lawyers’ Lawyers, and included as part of “The Best of the Bar” by Milwaukee Magazine.

Wisconsin Super Lawyers

Wisconsin Super Lawyers identifies the top 10 percent of attorneys in each state as chosen by their peers and by an independent research group. Personal Injury Attorneys at Murphy & Prachthauser have been given this award. Don Prachthauser has been honored to serve as President of the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates, President of the Wisconsin Association for Justice and has been elected to admission to the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has been named among the top 10 lawyers in the State of Wisconsin.

Community Contributions

For more than 40 years, Murphy & Prachthauser lawyers have been known as “Good Lawyers Who Help People.” The attorneys and staff at Murphy & Prachthauser are dedicated to helping their clients by providing high-quality legal service. But, helping people extends outside the office. Through volunteering and providing financial support to various organizations, Murphy & Prachthauser is able to help people in many other ways. These are a few of the organizations that the attorneys and staff at Murphy & Prachthauser hold dear to their hearts.

We’re here to help. Let’s talk.