Law School Award Recipients
Lifetime Achievement Award
DAVID J. CANNON, BUS AD '55, LAW '60
Elm Grove, Wis.
Recognized for decades as a top lawyer, Dave Cannon has prosecuted and defended hundreds of criminal matters in state and federal courts since beginning his career in 1960 in Milwaukee.
Dave is a litigation partner at Michael Best & Friedrich LLP and often is called upon by firm clients to conduct sensitive internal investigations involving possible corporate wrongdoing. He was a member of the Board of Governors of the State Bar of Wisconsin from 1985–89 and president of the Milwaukee Bar Association in 1982–83. Over the years, he has participated in numerous continuing legal education presentations on a variety of litigation issues for the state bar.
Before joining Michael Best & Friedrich in 1973, Dave was Milwaukee County district attorney and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. He and brothers John, Law ’52, and Bob, Law ’54, began their careers by practicing on Milwaukee’s East Side.
Dave has served on the Law School’s class of 1960 Reunion Committee and several previous reunion committees, as well as the Law School Advisory Board, which gave him the opportunity to spend time with students.
“Meeting the students has had an impact on me,” he says. “They are so enthusiastic, smart and thrilled about the opportunities the Law School provides.”
Speaking of opportunities, Dave says watching the planning for — and ultimate completion of — Ray and Kay Eckstein Hall was exciting.
“I was proud to become a lawyer in 1960 but am especially proud to be a Marquette lawyer today,” he says.
Dave and his wife, Carol, support many charities, including St. Ann's Center for intergenerational Care and the Working Boys Center in Quito, Ecuador.
