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Milwaukee Office
411 East Wisconsin Avenue
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202

Contact
(414) 277-5411
Fax: (414) 978-8996


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  Professional Liability
  Litigation & Dispute Resolution
  Insurance Coverage Litigation
  Real Estate, Land Use and Condemnation Litigation
  Construction Litigation



Keith A. Bruett / Partner
Professional Experience
Keith Bruett practices in the area of commercial litigation. His practice focuses on professional liability and complex insurance litigation. He has litigated insurance and professional liability cases throughout the country. Recent experience includes:
  • Part of the team representing the insured in Plastics Engineering Co. v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., 2009 WI 13, in which the Wisconsin Supreme Court adopted “all sums” allocation.

  • A defense jury verdict in a $15 million actuarial malpractice lawsuit.

  • A defense jury verdict in a $25 million insurance broker malpractice lawsuit.

  • A defense arbitration decision in a $10 million dollar insurance broker malpractice case.

  • Ongoing representation of manufacturers in insurance coverage lawsuits for asbestos-related injury claims.

  • Part of the team representing Johnson Controls in Johnson Controls, Inc. v. Employers Insurance of Wausau, 2003 WI 108, in which the Wisconsin Supreme Court overruled its 1994 City of Edgerton v. General Casualty environmental insurance coverage decision.
Education and Honors
  • Marquette University Law School (J.D., summa cum laude, 1998)
    Marquette Law Review (Lead Articles Editor, 1997-1998).
  • University of Minnesota (B.A., 1994)
Bar Admissions
Wisconsin, 1998

Court Admissions
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit

Professional Recognition
Selected for inclusion in Wisconsin Super Lawyers®–Rising Stars Editions 2007-2011 (Insurance Coverage; Professional Liability: Defense).

Professional and Civic Activities
  • State Bar of Wisconsin (Member).

  • Milwaukee Bar Association (Member).

  • American Bar Association (Member).

  • Milwaukee Young Lawyers Association (Member).

  • Quarles & Brady Diversity Committee (Representative).

Keith is Quarles & Brady’s firmwide chair for law school recruiting. He also co-chairs the Firm’s Insurance Recovery Practice. Keith edits a chapter on liquidated damages in The Law of Damages in Wisconsin.

Selected Presentations/Publications
  • Chapter author, “Pollution Insurance,” Construction Insurance: A Guide for Attorneys and Other Professionals.

  • “Retaliation:  The Tail That’s Wagging The Dog,” Quarles & Brady Labor and Employment Law Symposium, April 2000.

  • “Can Wisconsin Businesses Safely Rely Upon Exculpatory Contracts to Limit Their Liability,” 80 Marquette Law Review 1081, Summer 1998.