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Jeff Liotta
Jeffrey J. Liotta
Partner
Financial Services & Capital Markets
vCard
  • Waukesha County, WI
  • Direct: 262.956.6221
  • Fax: 262.956.6210
  • Email jeffrey.liotta huschblackwell.com
  • vCard
  • Waukesha County, WI
  • Direct: 262.956.6221
  • Fax: 262.956.6210
  • jeffrey.liotta huschblackwell.com
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Jeffrey J. Liotta

Partner
Financial Services & Capital Markets
Partner
Overview
  • Overview
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  • Experience
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  • News & Insights

Jeff, a member of the firm’s Financial Services & Capital Markets industry group, counsels businesses and individuals in fields as diverse as manufacturing, distribution, transportation, hospitality, banking, insurance, securities and construction, as well as professional services corporations and nonprofit entities. He has served as lead counsel in some of the largest aggravated civil fraud and business tort cases filed in federal or Wisconsin state court, a number of which had parallel criminal or regulatory proceedings.

Jeff successfully prosecutes and defends complex commercial cases with substantial civil and regulatory exposures in federal and state courts. (Three cases have had liquidated exposures to the client of $30 million to $200 million.) 

He provides representation in matters involving:

  • Breach of contract and creditors’ rights (including bankruptcy and receivership)
  • Intentional business torts: common law misrepresentation, statutory misrepresentation, securities fraud, conspiracy, commercial bribery, conversion, embezzlement, breach of fiduciary duty, theft of trade secrets and proprietary information, and tortious interference with contract
  • Negligence and professional liability claims
  • Real estate and construction litigation
  • Emergency provisional remedies
  • Fidelity, surety and insurance claims

Jeff is experienced in litigating complex arbitrations (AAA and FINRA) involving breach of contract, securities, employment law, noncompetition and trade secrets, contract reformation, misrepresentation, real estate, negligence and other issues. Additionally, he counsels and represents businesses and individuals in regulatory investigations and proceedings commenced by government agencies such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; Financial Industry Regulatory Authority; Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, Securities Division; Wisconsin Department of Transportation; Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection; and other administrative authorities.

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • State Bar of Wisconsin
  • American Bar Association

Awards and Recognitions

  • Wisconsin Super Lawyers, 2006-2017
  • The Best Lawyers in America, Litigation - Real Estate, Commercial Litigation, 2012-2018; Lawyer of the Year, "Litigation - Real Estate," 2017
  • Litigation Counsel of America, Senior Fellow, Trial Lawyer Honorary Society, inducted 2007

Civic Involvement

  • Healthy Families of Waukesha County Inc., President, 2008-2010, Board of Directors, 2004-2010 
  • Brookfield Parks, Recreation & Forestry Department, Commissioner, 2000-2003
  • Elmbrook Humane Society Inc., Board Member, 1988-1994, Vice President, 1989-1994
  • Elmbrook Board of Education, Board Member, 1983-1986, Board and School District Vice President, 1985-1986, Policy Committee Chairman, 1983-1986, Legislative Liaison, 1983-1986, Labor & Employment-Negotiations Committee, 1984-1986, Sites & Facilities Committee, 1983-1984

News & Insights

  • Is There Fraud in Your Midst? University of Wisconsin Family Business Center
  • Threatening Criminal Prosecution in a Civil Matter – Demand Letters, Serjeants Inn, Milwaukee Chapter
  • Federal Receiverships as an Alternative to Chapter 11: A New Look at Fed. R. Civ. P. 66 in the Wake of Madoff, Stanford and Wealth Management, 10th Annual Meeting and Presentation of the Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association
View More +

Experience

  • Represented financial advisors, lawyers, bankers, insurance agents, real estate brokers and other licensed professionals in claims involving professional negligence or breach of duty. Recent case experience involved a claim with liquidated damages in excess of $115 million.
  • Successfully represented a company whose employees were alleged to have engaged in commercial bribery and resolved all claims against the client before trial. The jury verdict against other alleged co-conspirators after a lengthy trial was in excess of $200 million.
  • Successfully represented a broker-dealer client before FINRA arbitration panel in a case involving two former employees who took, without permission, individual customer lists, provided the lists to their new employer and successfully converted business contrary to the interests of the client. The panel found that the client was entitled to compensatory and punitive damages, including attorneys’ fees.
  • Represented a client company in civil lawsuit against a senior management employee who embezzled funds and accepted illegal gratuities from a supplier. Succeeded in recovering substantial damages through restitution, insurance or post-judgment civil collection remedies, even though the employee was sentenced to prison.
  • Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a bank that sued its borrower for collection on a defaulted note. Borrower had counterclaimed for breach of fiduciary duty and lender liability based on alleged misrepresentations and other acts and omissions of the loan officer. The counterclaim was dismissed.
  • Secured final judgment in favor of a client regarding the scope of an easement that burdened the client’s lakefront property. The Court of Appeals held that based on the admissible trial evidence of record, the client was entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

News & Insights

November 10, 2017 News Releases 40 Husch Blackwell Attorneys Named to 2017 Mid-South and Wisconsin Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
August 15, 2017 In The News Husch Blackwell Places 156 Lawyers in 2018 Best Lawyers in America
Energy & Natural Resources Financial Services & Capital Markets Food & Agribusiness Healthcare, Life Sciences & Education Real Estate, Development & Construction Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation
November 11, 2016 In The News 40 Husch Blackwell Attorneys Named to 2016 Mid-South and Wisconsin Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
August 25, 2016 News Releases Thirty-seven Husch Blackwell Real Estate Attorneys Named to Best Lawyers in America 2017
Real Estate, Development & Construction
August 16, 2016 In The News Husch Blackwell Places 151 Lawyers in 2017 Best Lawyers in America
Energy & Natural Resources Financial Services & Capital Markets Food & Agribusiness Healthcare, Life Sciences & Education Real Estate, Development & Construction Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation
October 2014 Speaking Engagement Is There Fraud in Your Midst? University of Wisconsin Family Business Center
September 2013 Speaking Engagement Threatening Criminal Prosecution in a Civil Matter – Demand Letters, Serjeants Inn, Milwaukee Chapter
April 2012 Speaking Engagement Federal Receiverships as an Alternative to Chapter 11: A New Look at Fed. R. Civ. P. 66 in the Wake of Madoff, Stanford and Wealth Management, 10th Annual Meeting and Presentation of the Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association
November 2011 Speaking Engagement Arbitration: Rose Garden or Minefield, State Bar of Wisconsin, Business Counsel Institute – Crisis Management
View More +
  • Industry Focus
    • Financial Services & Capital Markets
  • Practice Areas
    • Government Compliance, Investigations & Litigation
  • Admissions
    • Wisconsin
    • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
    • U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin
    • U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois
    • U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
    • U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Wisconsin
    • U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Central District of Illinois
    • U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
  • Education
    • J.D., Marquette University Law School, 1987
    • B.A., Carroll University, 1984, summa cum laude
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