Kyle Willems is a member of Bassford Remele’s board of directors, co-chair of the firm’s construction practice group, and a member of its Diversity Equity Inclusion Team.

As a business litigator, Kyle primarily represents individuals and businesses who have disputes in the construction, real estate, and finance sectors.

Kyle has obtained favorable results for his clients through every other stage of a dispute, including pre-litigation/arbitration, litigation, arbitration, mediation, trials, and appeals.

Kyle’s broad range of experience and expertise extends to the following areas:

• Commercial litigation: shareholder disputes, directors and officers liability, breach of contract, fraud, class actions, internal investigations, and fraud.
• Construction: breach of contract, construction defect, warranty, insurance and bonding, mechanic’s liens, government enforcement actions, project delays and cost overruns, site injury and wrongful death, and defective products.
• Real estate: zoning and land use, boundary disputes, quiet title, premises liability, purchase and sale, non-disclosure, and fraud.

Kyle is a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association’s Construction Law Section Council, the American Bar Association’s Forum on Construction Law (Division 1 – Litigation), and the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota’s Contracts and Policy Committees. He is a past member of the Minnesota State Bar Association’s Executive Committee and was the Chair of the New Lawyers’ Section.

Kyle has been recognized as a 2022 and 2023 Finalist for Minnesota Real Estate Lawyer of the Year by the Real Estate Journal, a 2023 Minnesota Rising Star by Super Lawyers, a 2023 Top Lawyer by Minnesota Monthly, a 2023 One to Watch by Best Lawyers, and an Up & Coming Attorney by Minnesota Lawyer.

Education

• University of St. Thomas School of Law, J.D.
  • Dean's Scholarship Recipient
  • First Place, Minnesota Intellectual Property Law Association Moot Court Tournament
  • Board of Advocates, member
• University of Minnesota, B.A.
  • Dean's List Recipient

Bar Admissions

• U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota
• Minnesota
• Wisconsin

Certifications

• Qualified Neutral Under Rule 114 of the Minnesota General Rules of Practice
• National Center for Dispute Resolution, Arbitration Panel Member

Professional Achievements

• Douglas K. Amdahl Inn of Court

Bar Associations

• American Bar Association
  • Forum on Construction Law, Division 1 - Litigation
• Minnesota State Bar Association
  • Construction Section, Council, 2022-present
  • Council, 2020-2021
  • New Lawyers Section, Chair, 2020-2021
• Hennepin County Bar Association

Professional Associations

• Associated General Contractors of Minnesota
  • Contracts Committee, 2023-present
• Association of Women Contractors
• Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association
  • Products Liability Committee, Co-Chair, 2020-2021

• NAIOP Minnesota | Commercial Real Estate Development Association

Civic Involvement

• University of St. Thomas School of Law
  • Mentor Program, Mentor, 2015-2018; 2020-present
  • Alumni Board, 2018-2020

• Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, Construction Litigation, Real Estate Litigation and Personal Injury Litigation, 2024
• New Lawyers Distinguished Service Award, Minnesota State Bar Association New Lawyers Section, 2021
• Top Lawyers list, Construction Law, Minnesota Monthly, 2022 and 2023
• Up and Coming Attorney, Minnesota Lawyer, 2019
• Selected to the Minnesota Rising Stars list, Super Lawyers, 2020-present
  
• Minnesota Real Estate Journal Awards, Real Estate Lawyer of the Year Finalist, 2022 and 2023
• North Star Attorney, Minnesota State Bar Association, 2015-2018

• The Corporate Transparency Act - What You Need to Know, author, Attorney at Law, April 2024
• Business Succession Planning, author, Associated General Contractors of Minnesota Thought Leadership Series, February 2024
• "Slander of Title": The Counter-Punch to a Mechanic's Lien, author, Associated General Contractors of Minnesota, January 2024
• An Important Change for Minnesota's Anti-Indemnity Statute and What It Means for Minnesota Construction Companies, author, Associated General Contractors of Minnesota, June 2023
• Ten Tips for Creating Strong Business Agreements and Contracts, author, Upsize, May 2023
• Keeping an Eye on the Clock: Important Legal Deadlines That Construction Professionals Should Be Tracking, co-author, Associated General Contractors of Minnesota, February 2023
  
• Special Verdict Forms and Jury Instructions, author, Chapter 19, Minnesota Motor Vehicle Accident Deskbook, 2020
• TECH-SAVVY and HUMAN-CENTRIC - St. Thomas Lawyers embrace artificial intelligence's growing role within the law, author, St. Thomas Lawyer, fall 2019
• Trends in E-Scooter Litigation, author, Minnesota Bench & Bar Magazine, September 2019
• An Overview: The Impact of Rideshare Insurance on the Role of Liability Insurance in Motor Vehicle Accident Cases, author, Mitchell Hamline School of Law Journal of Public Policy and Practice, April 2019
• Liability in Self Driving Cars, author, Hennepin Lawyer, January/February 2019
• Protecting the Owner and the Project, author, Insurance and Bonding Issues in Construction, June 2016
• Litigating Sports Concussions: What You Need to Know About the Science and the Law, author, Bench & Bar Magazine, August/September 2017
• How to Level the Playing Field When the Insurers Fail to Pay, author, Attorney at Law Magazine, August 2015

• Office Market Update, panel moderator, Minnesota Real Estate Journal Mid-Year Forecast Summit, June 6, 2024
• Effectively Working with Opposing Counsel, Trial Preparation for Minnesota Legal Assistants, HalfMoon Publications, June 2024
• Adopting Practices That Reduce Construction Defects and Failures, presenter, Preventing and Addressing Construction Defects and Failures in Minnesota Seminar, HalfMoon Publications, February 21, 2024
• Strategies and Considerations for Construction Professionals Who Are Thinking About Investing and Succession Planning in Closely-Held Companies, presenter, Bassford Remele Construction Law Summit, February 8, 2024
  
• Hot Trends in the Construction Industry and What You Need to Know About These Trends, presenter, Bassford Remele Construction Law Summit, February 8, 2024
• Avoiding Disputes & Winning Disputes, moderator, Minnesota Real Estate Journal Construction Summit, January 26, 2024
• Construction Contracts 401, presenter, Associated General Contractors of Minnesota Construction Summit, January 17, 2024
  
• Determining Damages, Trying Defamation Cases, and Settlement Considerations, presenter, Minnesota Continuing Legal Education, December 2023
• Construction Contracts, presenter, Associated General Contractors of Minnesota, September 2023
• Office Market Update – State of the Market, moderator, Minnesota Real Estate Journal Mid-Year Forecast Summit, June 15, 2023
• Getting Into the Weeds: Navigating Cannabis Legalization in Minnesota, presenter, Associated General Contractors of Minnesota, June 14, 2023
• Avoiding Disputes, Winning Disputes & Construction Finance, presenter, Minnesota Real Estate Journal Construction Summit, January 25, 2023
  
• High Exposure from High Tech: Preparing for Legal Risks Posted by High Tech Advancements in the Construction Industry, presenter, Associated General Contractors of Minnesota Construction Summit, January 18, 2023
  
• How to Try a Civil Jury Trial, presenter, PowerHouse Mediation, December 6, 2022
• A Conversation About New Employment Laws in the Construction Industry, moderator, Minnesota State Bar Association Construction Law Section, September 15, 2022
• Pre-empting Post-COVID Legal Issues Affecting Your Project, presenter, 18th Annual Land Development Summit, Minnesota Real Estate Journal, May 5, 2022
  
• Opportunities in Today’s Residential Construction & Home Building Marketplace, presenter, 14th Annual Construction Summit, Minnesota Real Estate Journal, January 27, 2022
  
• Commercial Land Development State of the Market, panel moderator, 17th Annual Land Development Summit, Minnesota Real Estate Journal, September 15, 2021
  
• Legality of Electronic Scooters, presenter, St. Thomas School of Law Journal of Law and Public Policy, January 26, 2021
  
• Ride Sharing and Other Non-Driver Based Chaos, presenter, Minnesota Deskbook Series, September 2020
  
• Worksite Accident Litigation in the Tech Age, presenter, Minnesota State Bar Association, May 11, 2020
• Pleadings and Insurance Coverage: What Every Litigator Needs to Know, presenter, Minnesota State Bar Association, February 2019
• Legal Roles in Construction Law, panelist, Minnesota State Bar Association, January 2019
• Bonding and Insurance Issues in Construction, presenter, HalfMoon Publications Continuing Legal Education, 2016