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

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 2024 Minnesota Rising Star by Super Lawyers, and a 2024 Top Lawyer by Minnesota Monthly. He has also been named to The Best Lawyers in America.

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, Barrister

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
  • Real Estate Property Section
  • Civil Litigation Section
• 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

• The Best Lawyers in America©, Commercial Litigation and Real Estate Litigation, 2025
  
• 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, Minnesota Monthly, Construction Law, 2022 and 2023; Construction Litigation, 2024
• 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

• Five Provisions That Should Get Extra Attention During Your 2025 Contracts Review, co-author, Associated General Contractors of Minnesota, October 2024
• The Corporate Transparency Act Is On Appeal! How That Impacts Your Business Plans, co-author, Associated General Contractors of Minnesota, June 2024
• The Corporate Transparency Act - What Law Firms Need to Know, co-author, Attorney at Law, April 2024
• Business Succession Planning, co-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
• A Guide to the New Corporate Transparency Act, 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

• Ethical Traps in the Post-COVID Construction Industry, co-presenter, Associated General Contractors 2025 Minnesota Construction Summit, February 19, 2025
• Navigating Emerging Trends: ESOPs, Private Equity, and Financial Innovations, co-presenter, Bassford Remele 2025 Annual Construction Law Summit, February 6, 2025
• Commercial Construction Landscape: Challenges and Opportunities, panel moderator, Minnesota Real Estate Journal 17th Annual Construction Summit, January 23, 2025
• Post-Trial Enforcement and Considerations, co-presenter, Bassford Remele Mechanic's Lien: A Primer, December 12, 2024
• Navigating Corporate Transparency: Understanding the Corporate Transparency Act and Compliance Essentials, presenter, Wyoming State Bar's Annual Meeting & Judicial Conference, September 13, 2024
• How to Solicit and Respond to Bids with New Laws and Contract Changes to Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing Update, presenter, Associated General Contractors of Minnesota Summer Mini Summit, July 17, 2024
• Office Market Update, panel moderator, Minnesota Real Estate Journal Mid-Year Forecast Summit, June 6, 2024
  
• Effectively Working with Opposing Counsel, HalfMoon Publications Trial Preparation for Minnesota Legal Assistants, June 2024
• Adopting Practices That Reduce Construction Defects and Failures, presenter, HalfMoon Publications Preventing and Addressing Construction Defects and Failures in Minnesota Seminar, 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 16th Annual 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 15th Annual 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, Minnesota Real Estate Journal 18th Annual Land Development Summit, May 5, 2022
  
• Opportunities in Today’s Residential Construction & Home Building Marketplace, presenter, Minnesota Real Estate Journal 14th Annual Construction Summit, January 27, 2022
  
• Commercial Land Development State of the Market, panel moderator, Minnesota Real Estate Journal 17th Annual Land Development Summit, 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