Patrick J. Walsh

Patrick J. Walsh is a founding partner of Griffin Williams McMahon & Walsh. Mr. Walsh is passionate about litigation and works tirelessly for all his clients whether the matter is large or small, simple or complex. He has tried more than 100 bench and jury trials to verdict and has obtained millions in settlements and judgments for his clients.

Mr. Walsh’s practice focuses on state and federal employment litigation, state and federal labor litigation, general state and federal civil litigation, whistleblower claims, defamation, false arrest, malicious prosecution and unlawful force, personal injury, medical malpractice and criminal defense. Mr. Walsh has represented hundreds of clients before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Illinois Department of Human Rights and other administrative agencies including Boards of Fire & Police Commissioners.

Mr. Walsh has obtained millions in settlements and judgments for public and private employees in claims involving race discrimination, reverse race discrimination, gender discrimination, political retaliation, unequal pay, religious discrimination, wage violations, overtime violations and all forms of employment retaliation. Mr. Walsh has obtained large settlements on behalf of employees that were subjected to retaliation by their employers after filing state and federal “whistleblower” claims. He has worked in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, United States Department of Justice, United States Attorney’s Office, Office of the Cook County Inspector General and numerous other law enforcement agencies in investigating and prosecuting municipal corruption in civil and criminal courts. Mr. Walsh’s work on behalf of his municipal clients has directly caused or contributed to corrupt public officials being incarcerated or resigning from office.

Mr. Walsh is also available to corporate employers faced with the sometimes-daunting task of defending complex litigation. Mr. Walsh has obtained numerous dismissals for corporate employers defending complex employment litigation. Mr. Walsh recently obtained a dismissal with prejudice at the onset of litigation on behalf of a Chicago-area steel manufacturer charged with discriminating against an employee on the basis of an alleged disability. Mr. Walsh’s work has been the subject of exposes on CBS News, NBC News and WBBM Radio and featured in Law.com, Justice.gov, Entertainment Law Digest, the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, Crain’s Chicago Business, the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, the Cook County Record, the Daily Herald, the Daily Southtown, the Kane County Chronicle, the Peoria Journal Star and many others. Mr. Walsh was the subject of the first ever podcast on “Fire Law Blog,” a national authority on legal issues impacting the fire service. When Chief Billy Goldfeder, who is perhaps the most preeminent firefighter in the United States and creator of FireRescue1.com, was sued for defamation in Illinois, he sought out Mr. Walsh’s counsel. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Walsh obtained a dismissal with prejudice on Chief Goldfeder’s behalf.

Mr. Walsh’s reach is wide-ranging. He has represented public employees from the following municipalities: City of Blue Island, City of Chicago, City of Elburn, City of Harvey, City of North Aurora, City of Peoria, City of Racine, Wisconsin, City of St. Charles, City of Sycamore, Community High School District 99, Cook County, Country Club Hills, Lemont Fire Protection District, Orland Fire Protection District, Orland Township, Pleasantview Fire Protection District, Town of Cicero, Village of Bolingbrook, Village of Bradley, Village of Calumet Park, Village of Carpentersville, Village of Dolton, Village of Downers Grove, Village of Flossmoor, Village of Frankfort, Village of Matteson, Village of Maywood, Village of Mokena, New York City, Village of Oak Lawn, Village of River Grove, Village of Riverside, Village of Romeoville, Village of Sauk Village, Village of Schiller Park, Village of South Holland, Village of Tinley Park, Village of Vernon Hills and the Village of Western Springs.

Mr. Walsh earned a B.S. in accounting in 1988 after attending Millikin University, the London School of Economics and University of London. In law school, Mr. Walsh was an editor of the John Marshall Law Review and received his J.D. with honors. His law review article, STEMMING THE TIDE OF STEM CELL RESEARCH: THE BUSH COMPROMISE, was published in the John Marshall Law Review. Mr. Walsh is admitted to practice law within the State of Illinois, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and the United States Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Walsh has also been admitted to practice in the State of Florida, the State of Georgia, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Mr. Walsh is a member of the Chicago Bar Association, Illinois Bar Association, American Bar Association, Armenian Bar Association and the Federal Trial Bar.