Kyle W. Engelke

Partner
Partner
Legal Assistant
Melissa Hammersley
608-259-2608
mhammersley@staffordlaw.com

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On the Job

Attorney Kyle Engelke’s Practice

Attorney Kyle Engelke is a partner in the Madison office at Stafford Rosenbaum LLP. Kyle is a past president of the Dane County Bar Association and co-chairs Stafford Rosenbaum’s litigation practice group. He has been recognized for his work as a litigator by Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, and the Wisconsin Law Journal.

Kyle’s passion is courtroom practice. However, a client should hear what they need to know about their legal dispute – both the good and bad – long before a judge or jury passes judgment. Kyle’s job is to assess the risk created by a client’s conflict and manage the legal uncertainty they face. His trial practice includes commercial litigation, tort and civil rights defense, personal injury matters and wrongful death claims. Regardless of the matter, Kyle believes it is his job to earn his client’s trust, and that every client deserves an advocate who is both responsive and understanding of the demands (and costs) legal disputes create for the client.

Trial practice requires storytelling, and Kyle enjoys all aspects of building a trial record. Kyle’s experience includes handling all aspects of trial practice – from jury trials to emergency injunction hearings, and from expert discovery to case management and budgeting. Kyle’s frequent briefing experience includes successfully dismissing a mass tort claim for carbon monoxide poisoning at a hockey rink and authoring an amicus brief on behalf of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities addressing Wisconsin’s governmental immunity law – a matter Kyle also argued before the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

In state court, Kyle frequently defends municipalities against claims ranging from negligence and violations of Wisconsin’s Safe Place Law to nuisance and defamation. In federal court, Kyle has appeared defending municipalities against civil rights claims alleging excessive force and fair housing violations, in addition to claims brought under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for environmental cleanup costs.

Kyle’s commercial litigation experience includes fair dealership claims, corporate control contests, whistleblower claims involving misappropriation of trade secrets, defending class actions alleging professional liability arising from financial investments and multi-state statutory fraud claims involving administration of Wisconsin’s Medicaid program. Kyle also co-authors the Wisconsin Bar Association’s publications on Trade Secrets and Tortious Interference with Contractual Relations.

Kyle’s Court Admissions

  • State of Wisconsin
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
  • United States Supreme Court

Kyle’s Education

  • University of Wisconsin Law School (J.D.)
    • Wisconsin Innocence Project, Student Attorney
    • Symposium Editor and Senior Board member for the Wisconsin International Law Journal
    • Coach and participant in the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Vienna, Austria
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison (B.A. Journalism and International Studies)

Kyle’s Professional Recognition and Awards

  • The Best Lawyers in America: Litigation – Municipal (since 2023)
  • In Business Madison 40 Under 40 class member (2022)
  • Wisconsin Rising Star by Super Lawyers (since 2018)
  • Up and Coming Lawyer by Wisconsin Law Journal (2016)

Kyle’s Publications

  • Co-author, Trade Secrets chapter, Wisconsin Attorney’s Desk Reference (2017-present)
  • Co -author, Tortious Interference with Contractual Relations, Law of Damages (2018-present)

Kyle’s Professional Memberships and Activities

  • Dane County Bar Association
    • President (2021-2022)
    • Board of Directors (2017 to present)
  • American Bar Association
    • Fellow of American Bar Association, 2019
  • State Bar of Wisconsin
    • Bench and Bar Committee (June 2018 to present)
  • James E. Doyle American Inn of Court

Off the Job

Originally from New Glarus, Kyle and his wife Mary, a Madison native, met during their undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin. They continue to reside in Madison, now with their Australian Shepherds, Edward and Ballina. Both Kyle and Mary love traveling and seeing new places, but the couple bleeds Badger red and they always look forward to football Saturdays and March Madness. Kyle grew up working in the restaurant business, which is now to blame for a zeal for fine wine and dining. Accordingly, when they take a break from the “charms” of owning an older home (A.K.A. do-it-yourself home improvement projects), Kyle and Mary enjoy nothing better than a well-executed dinner party with friends or family. As a park advocate, Kyle also enjoys golfing and biking around Madison’s beautiful natural spaces. Unless they are on the lake already, Kyle’s favorite place to be is at the Union Terrace with a local beer in hand.

  • Favorite Artist: My wife singing in the car
  • Favorite Food: Anything off my Dad’s grill at the family’s patio
  • Favorite Beverage: Westmalle Abbey Tripel or Honig’s Napa Cab
  • Favorite Restaurant: Brasserie V – best frites in town!
  • Favorite TV show: I can’t say how many times I have watched Downton Abbey or Parks and Recreation!
  • Last Place(s) Visited: Christmas markets in Vienna and Germany in 2019. If you are headed to Central Europe, I would be happy to discuss my favorite spots (from Belgium and France to Germany, Austria, Prague, and Budapest). My dad and I headed to Australia together, which was fantastic — just make sure you take enough time to justify the travel time down there.
  • Would Like to Visit: Taking recommendations!
  • Guilty Pleasure: Soundtrack to The Greatest Showman, and anything from the Harry Potter franchise.

Community Involvement

  • Madison Parks Foundation, Board Member and Executive Committee Secretary

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