Meet Maria
Maria Kreiter is a shareholder in the Litigation practice of Godfrey & Kahn's Milwaukee office. Her practice focuses on complex business litigation and primarily claims involving trade secrets, non-competition agreements, banking and financial services disputes, FINRA arbitrations, business torts and real estate matters.
Maria chairs the Litigation team's Non-Compete & Trade Secrets practice and has also served as chair of the American Bar Association's Business Torts & Unfair Competition Committee, one of the largest nationwide committees of the section of litigation. Maria is a frequent seminar speaker on current commercial litigation topics and was named the Wisconsin Law Journal's Woman Lawyer of the Year.
Maria's trial experience includes court and jury trials in both state and federal court, as well as numerous injunction hearings and temporary restraining order hearings.
Education
Juris Doctor, Marquette University Law School, 2004, cum laude
Bachelor of Science, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, summa cum laude
Activities
American Bar Association - Chair of the Business Torts and Unfair Competition Committee (2015-present) Vice Chair of the Commercial & Business Litigation Committee Chair (2010-2015); Co-Chair of the Banking and Lender Liability Subcommittee (2009-2011); Programming Chair (2010-2015)
Coalition for Children Youth & Families - Board of Directors (2014 – present)
Justinian Society of Lawyers: Board of Directors (2005 - 2012)
Milwaukee Bar Association: Board of Directors (2011 - 2017)
Milwaukee Bar Association Foundation: Board of Directors
National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations – Board of Directors (2014 – 2016)
Rotary Club of Milwaukee (2014 - present)
Honors
Named 2015 Woman Lawyer of the Year by the Wisconsin Law Journal
Listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Commercial Litigation, 2016 - present)
Elected to the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation
Recognized as a Wisconsin Rising Star (2011 - 2012, 2014 - 2019)
Recognized as a Wisconsin Super Lawyer (2021 - present)
Admitted To Practice
Illinois, WisconsinCourt Admissions
United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
United States District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
United States District Court, Western District of Wisconsin
Professional Associations
American Bar Association, Milwaukee Bar Association, Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Bar Association, State Bar of WisconsinMaria has a track record of success in high-profile, high-stakes litigation.
Representative examples include:
BMO Harris Financial Advisors v. Wayne Hummer Investments, LLC d/b/a Wintrust Wealth Management and Neil Moscicki. Obtained a $1,537,500 award, including $512,500 in punitive damages, in favor of BMO against a former advisor and his new employer where the former employee breached his non-solicit and confidentiality agreements and Wintrust was liable for inducing the breach. The damages award was preceded by obtaining both a temporary restraining order and injunction. http://www.finra.org/sites/default/files/aao_documents/15-02080.pdf
M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank – Loan Fraud. Conducted an internal investigation regarding loan fraud perpetrated by third-party loan brokers and escrow company employees. Successfully pursued multiple avenues of recovery on behalf of the victim bank, including indemnification demands under the brokerage agreement that led to multiple settlements without litigation, pursuit of a criminal restitution award, and litigation against the Stewart Title entities that employed one of the co-conspirators who was central to the fraudulent loan closings, with that case alone resulting in a settlement in excess of $1 million. Efforts in total resulted in a net recovery to the bank in excess of $3 million, plus restitution payments from defendants criminally convicted of the real estate fraud scheme.
In the Estate of Harold Shovers. Jury verdict in favor of client on all claims after litigation spanning more than six years in multi-court dispute regarding ownership of a business and its assets, with subsequent affirmance of the verdict on appeal.
Towne Mortgage, Inc. v. Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group. Obtained dismissal of multi-claim complaint alleging misappropriation of trade secrets, tortious interference, unfair competition, conspiracy, and breach of fiduciary claims.
M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank v. Saguaro Beauty Supply Inc. et al. Obtained dismissal of a purported class action 365/360 interest suit in which the former borrowers challenged the bank’s calculation of interest on commercial loans. The state court decision granting our motion to dismiss contained the one most detailed analyses of the particular loan interest provision at issue of any court nationwide and included multiple grounds in support of the favorable decision.
Grady v. Elmwood Financial Corporation et al. Successful defense of emergency motion for temporary restraining order against bank and dismissal of all claims under theories of FDIC retained liability.
Juneau Village Towers. Represented property owner in multi-million dollar partition and corporate dissolution litigation.
Appointment as Milwaukee County Special Prosecutor, Guns and Drugs Units. First-chaired seven felony jury trials charged by the drug and gun units of the Milwaukee District Attorney’s Office.