Joseph Dunn was a member of the California State Senate from 1998 to 2006. In the Legislature, he chaired key committees such as the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Housing Committee. He received international acclaim as chair of the Senate Investigation Committee into the 2001 California energy crisis. California Lawyer Magazine labeled then-Senator Dunn as “The Man Who Cracked Enron.”

From 2006 to 2009, Mr. Dunn served as CEO and executive director of the California Medical Association, where he oversaw governmental affairs and advocacy activities. He also served as CEO of the State Bar of California. Mr. Dunn is a founding partner of The Senators (Ret.) Firm, LLP, in Santa Ana, where his practice includes litigation, legislation and regulation. Prior to entering the Senate, he was a plaintiff’s lawyer in Orange County, handling products liability litigation involving defective medical devices and pharmaceuticals. He worked in the Newport Beach office of Robbins, Kaplan, Miller and Ciresi after law school and joined Robinson, Calcagnie, Robinson, also in Newport Beach, where he continued to focus on products liability and complex litigation until his election to the Senate.

He received his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the Minnesota School of Law (1983) and his B.A. magna cum laude from the College of St. Thomas (1980).