Colleen E Fielkow

Colleen E. Fielkow

Shareholder

Milwaukee
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Colleen Fielkow is a shareholder in Reinhart's Litigation Practice, where she handles complex commercial litigation for clients nationwide. She is a natural problem solver, adept at anticipating issues and seeing possibilities for her clients whether prosecuting or defending cases.

Colleen advises on product liability and contract disputes for a variety of industries, including manufacturers and distributors of medical devices, heavy and specialized equipment, food and beverage, railroad/transportation, engineering and utility services, insurance, as well as financial institutions. She also handles class-action and multi-district litigation, regulatory matters, supply chain risk, indemnification, detailed research and exposure analysis, mediation and arbitration and intellectual property challenges.

She's a highly organized, responsive and dedicated legal partner to her clients with deep insight into all phases of litigation. Colleen's experience living in Thailand and Vietnam and working for the American Chamber of Commerce in Ho Chi Minh City honed her global perspective in dealing with sourcing, suppliers, manufacturing, controls and regulations — one that helps her see the big picture and understand how those factors impact business. She enjoys being part of her clients' team and tenaciously addressing complex, challenging cases.

Colleen loves to cook (especially ethnic cuisines), travel and spend time with her family (including their internationally adopted pup, Thai).

Education

  • J.D., with Honors, DePaul University College of Law (Editor and Author, DePaul Law Review; Order of the Coif)
  • B.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison

Bar Admissions

Wisconsin | Illinois | Texas

Court Admissions

  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Practices
Services

Matters

Complex Commercial, Product and IP Litigation
  • Lead attorney instrumental in prosecuting a multimillion-dollar commercial suit with various contract and alternative fraud claims against publicly traded companies, winning on key claims in dispositive motions to eventually settle matter favorably for client. Case spanned several years where Colleen managed teams of several attorneys, paralegals, expert witnesses and other professionals.
  • Won complete victory in a product liability case defending a medical device distributor through summary judgement and appeal, avoiding costly damages and trial costs.
  • Successfully represented a distributor of a consumer product in a multi-party product liability suit involving wrongful death, structuring a settlement prior to trial for nuisance value.
  • Represented a medical device manufacturer in a multi-year suit against third-party vendors that caused recall of millions of the client’s devices. Won key issue on appeal with evolving claim in state law, which led to successful resolution of the matter.
  • Lead attorney on a complex breach of contract case in federal court, winning on all claims in summary judgment, and successfully briefing and arguing before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
  • Conducted a successful federal bankruptcy bench trial for banking client.
  • Appointed as Special Prosecutor at Milwaukee County D.A.’s office for four months where Colleen handled a criminal prosecution docket, involving numerous evidentiary hearings and eight jury trials, most of which resulted in guilty verdicts.
  • Secured the dismissal of several different suits including against an equipment manufacturer and financial institution in federal actions, and a national retailer in a state action.
  • Successfully defended nursing home and assisted living facilities in wrongful death suits involving significant damages exposure, achieving settlements that resulted in no liability beyond claims limits.
  • Second chair in an arbitration matter involving a construction dispute with an engineering client with a favorable result.
  • Successfully defended and resolved intellectual property lawsuits for a medical device manufacturer and distributors related to trademark and patent claims.
  • Prosecuted and defended hundreds of depositions involving corporate and executive witnesses, product developers, manufacturers, engineers, expert witnesses, accident and other on-the-scene witnesses, doctors, accountants and named plaintiffs/defendants.
Counseling
  • Counseled medical device, food manufacturers and other regulated products clients on recall and safety protocols. Interfaced with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the same.
  • Advised manufacturers of heavy and light equipment and consumer products on product recall, safety measures and warnings analysis. Interfaced with federal agencies, such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), regarding avoidance or handling of consumer product recalls.
  • Conducted liability insurance audits for clients involving coverage for product liability lawsuits and failures, including recall insurance.
  • Reviewed supply chain contracts and corresponding insurance coverage for clients’ exposure analysis for product liability claims and recalls.

Honors & Affiliations

Honors

  • Women in the Law Award by Wisconsin Law Journal
  • Inaugural Pro Bono Attorney of the Year – Reinhart
  • Pro Bono Advocacy Team Award – State Bar of Wisconsin
  • Named Reinhart 2009 Pro Bono Attorney of the Year
Affiliations
  • State Bar of Wisconsin
  • Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design
  • Wisconsin Equal Justice Fund
  • Catherine Residence for Women

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