Brian Murphy

Brian Murphy has been in practice in Illinois since 1989. Initially in practice with an insurance defense firm, Williams & Montgomery, in 1991, Mr. Murphy joined Hofeld and Schaffner. Since that time, he has practiced catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death litigation on behalf of injured persons and their families.

Mr. Murphy is a lifelong resident of Chicago, Illinois, and is licensed in Illinois. He has been admitted pro hac vice in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and New York. He has practiced in the Circuit Courts of Cook County, the Chicagoland collar counties and other counties throughout the state. He has tried cases in Cook County, DuPage County, Lake County, Will County and Kane County. He has argued successful appeals before the Illinois Appellate Court and the Illinois Supreme Court. He is admitted to the Federal Trial Bar for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

In his career, Mr. Murphy has obtained awards and settlements totaling over $300,000,000.00 on behalf of clients injured and killed by negligence and malpractice. Murphy has successfully litigated cases involving medical negligence, auto negligence, trucking negligence, work site negligence, product liability, premise liability, and transportation negligence, including FELA and Jones Act litigation. Mr. Murphy has successfully represented clients and families against the United States government in Federal Tort Claim Act litigation.

Active in state wide bar organizations and bar leadership, Mr. Murphy is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, having served as Secretary and Chair of the Tort Law Section Committee. He is a member of the Board of Advocates of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, the largest plaintiffs’ Attorneys bar in the state of Illinois, where he was Co-Chair of the Medical Negligence Committee for over 10 years. He is an invited member of the Society of Trial Lawyers, the oldest trial lawyer society in the State of Illinois and is a past board member. Mr. Murphy is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, an invitation only society of plaintiff and defense lawyers.

A number of peer review groups have selected Mr. Murphy for special recognition. He is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell and has been since 1999. He is included in the Best Lawyers of America, has been named as an Illinois Super Lawyer for over 10 years and has been selected to Illinois Leading Lawyers, reserved for the top 5% of all lawyers practicing in the State of Illinois.

Mr. Murphy is a frequent lecturer and author in all areas of personal injury and wrongful death litigation. For over 10 years, he was a chapter author for the Illinois Trial Lawyer Association Medical Negligence Trial Notebook , concerning the Illinois Medical Negligence Statute of Limitations.