Bruce A. Keyes

Of Counsel

Bruce A. Keyes

Of Counsel

Bruce Keyes is a business lawyer, dividing his practice between Foley & Lardner’s Real Estate and Environmental Practices, with a focus on complicated urban development projects, project incentives, and New Market Tax Credits. He has practiced extensively in the areas of brownfields and public-private partnerships and serves as lead counsel for the Kenosha Innovation Neighborhood redevelopment of the 107-acre former Chrysler facility in “uptown” Kenosha, Wisconsin. He served as lead counsel for the development and financing of Discovery World, Ltd., the Milwaukee Public Museum’s US$240 million relocation project, and the development of Ballpark Commons stadium and entertainment district (which is the largest development in Wisconsin to be located on a closed landfill). He has led New Market Tax Credit financings for private sector companies, including UP Paper, Michels Corporation, Super Steel, and Winsert, and capably negotiated local, state, and federal financial incentives when they were needed to ensure the success of a project.

Bruce’s recent successes include a cost recovery settlement under RCRA for historic property contamination and several ongoing complex cleanup actions of client properties by prior responsible parties under CERCLA. He has played a leading role in a number of nonprofit initiatives, including the development of the Hank Aaron State Trail and the co-founding of Bublr Bikes, Milwaukee’s nonprofit bikeshare operator. He has played a founding/leading role in Menomonee Valley Partners, Inc. and was tasked by the Mayor of Milwaukee to jump-start the Harbor District, Inc., working to redevelop several of the largest waterfront brownfield tracts in the state of Wisconsin.

His practice often involves the use of complex and highly regulated local, state, and federal funding through the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Treasury Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.

Awards and Recognition

  • Peer review rated as AV Preeminent®, the highest performance rating in the Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ system
  • The Best Lawyers © Environmental Law (2008 – 2023)
  • The Best Lawyers © Natural Resources Law (2012 – 2023)
  • The Best Lawyers® 2021 Natural Resources Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Milwaukee
  • Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business in the practice area of Natural Resources & Environment (2023)
  • Recognized in M Magazine’s November 2013 issue as a “Game Changer” for his work with the Menomonee Valley Partners, being “instrumental in shepherding many of the area’s most exciting developments from conception through ribbon-cutting and beyond”
  • Recipient of the “Gordon Sinykin Award of Excellence” by the State Bar of Wisconsin
  • Recipient of the 2007 and 2009 Phoenix Awards
  • Recipient of a “Milwaukee Award for Neighborhood Development Innovations”
  • Received the Lynford Lardner Community Service Award
  • Selected as one of the “40 Under Forty” by the Milwaukee Business Journal

Affiliations

  • Discovery World, Ltd.
    • Board Chair (2022-present)
    • Board Secretary (1995-2022)
    • Board Member (1995-present)
  • Menomonee Valley Partners, Inc.,
    • Board President (2015-present)
    • Board Member (2005-present)
  • Bublr Bikes (Midwest Bikeshare, Inc.)
    • Founder
    • Board Chair (2011-present)

Community Involvement

  • Friends of Hank Aaron State Trail, Inc, past president and board member
  • Congregation Emanu El B’Ne Jeshurun, past president and Trustee
  • Member of the State of Wisconsin Brownfield Study Group, 1998-2021
17 August 2023 Honors and Awards

Foley Attorneys Recognized in 2024 Best Lawyers in America

Foley & Lardner LLP proudly announced today that 236 of the firm’s attorneys across 20 U.S. offices have received recognition in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©.
01 June 2023 Press Releases

Foley Earns Top Rankings in Chambers USA 2023

Foley & Lardner LLP is pleased to announce that it has again been recognized by Chambers & Partners as one of the top law firms in the country in the 2023 edition of Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.
18 August 2022 Press Releases

Foley Attorneys Recognized in 2023 Best Lawyers in America

Foley & Lardner LLP proudly announced that 250 of our attorneys across 20 offices have received recognition in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.
19 August 2021 Press Releases

Foley Attorneys Recognized in 2022 Best Lawyers in America

Foley & Lardner LLP announced today that 236 of the firm’s attorneys from 18 U.S. offices have been recognized in the 2022 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©, and 46 lawyers from 13 offices were included in the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch list. Additionally, 14 of the firm’s attorneys received the special designation of “Lawyer of the Year,” an honor earned by only one lawyer in each practice area and metropolitan region.
01 December 2020 In the News

Wisconsin Law Journal Highlights Foley Lawyers Working in Milwaukee to Protect Election

The Wisconsin Law Journal highlighted the work of Foley lawyers from around the country who came to Wisconsin on election day to work at polls to insure voters a smooth voting experience.
20 August 2020 Press Releases

Foley Attorneys Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America 2021 List

Foley & Lardner LLP announced today that 20 of its attorneys earned Best Lawyers 2021 “Lawyer of the Year” recognition in their respective practice areas. In addition, 243 of the firm’s attorneys from 18 offices have been listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2021. Another 51 of the firm’s attorneys from 14 offices have been named to the new category of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, which recognizes associates and other lawyers who are earlier in their careers for their outstanding professional excellence in private practice.