William Cannon remembered as ‘lion’ of Milwaukee’s legal landscape
William “Bill” Cannon amassed quite a collection of lion figurines over the years.
Likenesses of the regal animal, in various shapes and sizes, had become a calling card for the well-known Milwaukee attorney, almost as much as the roadside billboards and advertisements that bear his law firm’s name all over town.
They were gifts – from appreciative clients, well-wishers, other attorneys.
If he won a case or big settlement, chances are another lion head was on its way.
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“He established himself as a lion of the legal profession,” recalls his brother, Tom Cannon. “It was a tacit recognition that he was somebody who was at the top of his craft, a king of his craft.”
A path in the legal world had been set for Cannon from the beginning; he’s a member of one of Wisconsin’s best-known and most prominent legal families.
His grandfather, Raymond J. Cannon, was a lawyer and a former congressman, who represented boxer Jack Dempsey and “Shoeless” Joe Jackson during the Chicago Black Sox Scandal of 1919. Cannon’s father, Robert C. Cannon, was a longtime judge in Wisconsin.
His brother, Tom Cannon, also is a lawyer. And his two children also have juris doctorates.
Still, there was no pressure placed on William Cannon to keep up the family’s legal traditions, said Tom Cannon. It just seemed like a fit.
However, a high-profile criminal case decades ago clearly left an impression.
Cannon was in grade school when the trial for then-County Board Chairman Richard C. Nowakowski was heating up.
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Nowakowski was convicted in 1974 of violating the state’s corrupt practices act and later booted out of office. His offense: failing to report $800 worth of stamps contributed to his 1972 reelection campaign.
The case was all over the news, in the Milwaukee Sentinel and on TV news stations.
One day, young Bill Cannon hopped on a no. 10 bus to downtown Milwaukee to see the trial for himself, in person.
“He was interested in it and was investigating it,” Tom Cannon, 77, recalled. “That was the first time … we actually got to see a trial, other than on ‘Perry Mason.’ “
Heritage was important to Cannon. He was a fifth generation Irishman, whose deep affinity for his ancestral homeland shaped the course of his life.
After grade school and high school, Cannon later attended the National University of Ireland (Galway) and the Sorbonne in Paris, before graduating from Marquette University. He later graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin Law School.
Cannon and Patrick O. Dunphy together formed Cannon & Dunphy S.C. in 1985. The Milwaukee law firm quickly became recognized as one of Wisconsin’s most successful personal injury practices.
Cannon won more $10 million paid verdicts and settlements for his clients than any other lawyer in Wisconsin history.
Among them were:
- A $25.2 million jury verdict, judgment and settlement awarded to the parents and their daughter’s estate in a medical malpractice case in Milwaukee County. It involved a resident physician who failed to diagnose an acute abdomen in a 15-year old girl and failed to seek a consultation from a senior resident over an 11-hour time span, which led to the ischemic death of the girl’s small bowel and its removal.
- A $17.2 million jury verdict in a premises liability case in Manitowoc County, involving severe burn injuries to three masons. This was the first eight-figure personal-injury verdict ever awarded in Wisconsin.
- A $16 million award to a patient in a medical malpractice case in Milwaukee where a physician inappropriately ordered high dose steroids for an undiagnosed condition.
Cannon had been out of the courtroom for a few years by the time he was diagnosed with Stage IV colorectal cancer in 2020. He fought it every day.
There were treatments and surgeries, each seemingly more challenging than the one before.
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His battle, Tom Cannon said, was a testament to his incredible strength and tenacity.
Still, Bill Cannon was determined to make every minute count. He renewed his vows to Geralyn in Positano, Italy.
“Bill was a gifted and dynamic lawyer,” Dunphy told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “His courtroom skills were recognized by all as among the best in the state. Bill made an indelible mark on the legal community and continued a proud family legal legacy.
Family and friends will gather Oct. 16 at 9:30 a.m. at St. Jude the Apostle Church, 734 Glenview Ave., Wauwatosa. Memorial Mass will be 10:30 a.m. Private interment will be at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery.
Donations in lieu of flowers are requested in Bill Cannon’s name to support Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center research efforts in colorectal and appendiceal cancers.
Checks, made payable to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, should be mailed to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Attn: Fred’s Team, P.O. Box 27432, New York, NY 10087-7432.
A gift also can be made in Cannon’s honor to the Hunger Task Force of Milwaukee, 5000 W. Electric Ave., West Milwaukee.
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