Mark Alan Ruppelt | Attorney

Attorney Mark A. Ruppelt brings a wealth of experience in municipal and criminal law. Having served as a Prosecutor during his early years as an attorney, Ruppelt has handled more than a thousand criminal and municipal trials. He served for years as the Chief Trial Attorney and Lead Civil Litigator for several municipalities, and has litigated cases in both State and Federal Courts in Wisconsin and Illinois. During his time as a municipal attorney, Ruppelt assisted in drafting legislation and successfully represented the City of New Berlin in a wrongful death suit, obtaining a directed verdict in the case.

Since leaving the Prosecutor's Office, Ruppelt has represented clients in a wide range of criminal and quasi-criminal matters. He has specialized his practice in drug and sexual assault defense cases, and recently received special notice for his work in defending clients in drunk driving matters. Mark has successfully handled a number of white-collar defense cases, including a successful defense in one of the biggest Medicaid Fraud cases brought in Wisconsin in many years. He has successfully defended clients facing Federal charges and has coordinated the successful appeals on a number of other cases in both the State and Federal court systems. Ruppelt has earned a reputation as a Trial lawyer who will take on the tough cases.

Ruppelt has recently begun taking on Federal 1983 claims for individuals injured by police and others acting under the color of law. He is currently involved in several cases involving inappropriate actions by City of Milwaukee police, and is consulting on several other federal cases involving claims against rogue cops. Ruppelt's extensive background and understanding of the inner workings of police departments has been an invaluable aid in taking claims involving police department internal affairs, duty disability and Federal civil litigation. Ruppelt's approach to handling both the white-collar crimes and the 1983 claims is recognized as cutting edge and his effectiveness in resolving these matters is quickly earning him a reputation as the go-to lawyer for these types of cases. Over the past two years, Ruppelt and his law partner, James Gatzke, have starred in a regular radio call-in show on Clear Channel radio called "At The Bar with Gatzke & Ruppelt", where they take listeners calls and offer advice on a wide variety of legal topics.

Ruppelt was born in Milwaukee on April 1, 1969, and is a lifelong Wisconsin resident. He currently resides in Fox Point with his wife and their two children. Ruppelt obtained his undergraduate degree cum laude from Marquette University (Arts and Sciences) and his law degree from Marquette Law. Mark was a member of the National Sports Law Institute and one of the Editors of the Law Review. He has been a member of the Waukesha County Bar Association, the Milwaukee Bar Association, the State Bar of Wisconsin, and the Municipal Lawyers Division of the Waukesha County Bar. He has been involved in teaching other lawyers through the Wisconsin State Bar on issues involving Operating While Intoxicated Defense, and has provided additional training to lawyers in the areas of Drug and Associated Crimes Defense, and White-Collar Defense.