Katherine Bloomquist

Attorney Ms. Bloomquist is recognized as a leader in animal law and equine law. She is a frequent speaker at the National Equine Law Conference in Kentucky, the equine law conference in California, and is regularly published on this subject. In 2005 she was the first speaker on equine law at the American Bar Association in Chicago, IL, and is presently the subcommittee chair for Equine Law of the Animal Law Committee of the Torts & Litigation Section of the American Bar Association. Ms Bloomquist was the chair of the Animal Law Section of the Minnesota State Bar for two consecutive years 2005-2007 and chaired the first ever Animal Law Conference sponsored by the Minnesota State Bar Association in April 2006. She represents equine clients throughout the world.

Ms. Bloomquist is also heavily active in civic matters. She is a past president of Christmas in May, a past president of Chaska Rotary, and current chair of the Rotary STRIVE program at Chaska High School.

She received her B.A. degree in 1986 from the University of Minnesota and her J.D. degree from the University Of Oregon School Of Law in 1989. She was a member of the National Moot Court Team, earning recognition as the top regional female oral advocate.

Experience: Litigation and Corporate

Ms. Bloomquist has a combination of litigation and corporate counsel experience, which provides her with a unique and expansive view of matters. She has litigated matters involving equine, employment, corporate, commercial, contract, tax, and police excessive force, prosecution, and officer/director liability. Her litigation experience involves jury trials, court trials, appeals, arbitrations, and ADR proceedings. She has managed litigation as an in-house corporate attorney. Ms Bloomquist has handled diverse corporate and transactional matters, including mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and a variety of commercial contracts. She has also handled numerous governmental and regulatory investigations, international advertising, employment, and contractual matters. She established innovative in-house counsel guidelines, litigation budgets and value billing fees, policies, and procedures. Reported cases include: Gross v. Victoria Station Farms, 578 N.W.2d 757 (1998). She recently litigated precedent-setting equine cases in Texas Federal Court and California Federal Court on product liability matters and the Minnesota Supreme Court on a workers’ compensation case.

Professional Associations

Ms. Bloomquist is a member of the following professional associations:
American Bar Association, Animal Law Committee; Minnesota Bar Association, Council Member of the Animal Law Section, and Chair of the Committee on Equine Law; Hennepin County Bar Association.

Bar Memberships

Admitted to the Minnesota Bar 1989.
Admitted to the U.S. District for Minnesota 1989.
Admitted to Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals 1989.

Civic Activities

Ms. Bloomquist has been a member of the Chaska Rotary since 1994, serving on the Board and as an officer from 1998-2002, serving as president in 2001. She also served on the Christmas in May Board as an officer and director from 1997-2000, serving as president in 1999. She has participated on the Heart Gala Corporate Outreach Committee and was a member of the Affiliate Development Committee of the American Heart Association. Ms. Bloomquist has served on the Board of Directors of the St. Francis Foundation during the years of 1997-1999.

For the last twenty-five years Ms. Bloomquist has received numerous awards in recognition for her consistent professional, civic, and community service.

Leah Loomis

Attorney Ms. Loomis earned a Bachelor/Master with Honors in International Relations from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, UK. While there, she worked as an analyst at the Center for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence. Her responsibilities included tracking terrorism and violence in particular regions and presenting her analysis at meetings that were open to the public depending on the subject matter. She was also part of the Riding Society, where she took horseback riding lessons and rode horses on the beach, and played on the University's women's basketball team.

After returning to the United States, Ms. Loomis attended Suffolk University Law School in Boston and was awarded Honorable Mention for Best Persuasive Memorandum of Law in her first year legal writing course. She then transferred to William Mitchell College of Law from which she graduated in 2009.

Ms. Loomis was involved in many activities while attending William Mitchell. She was a staff member of the Journal of Law and Practice which primarily focuses on the impact of legislation changes and recent court decisions. Ms. Loomis' responsibilities included reviewing Court of Appeal and Supreme Court decisions for precedent setting cases to be included in the journal. In addition, Ms. Loomis was chosen to represent William Mitchell at the William E. McGee National Civil Rights Moot Court competition. Ms. Loomis was awarded a CALI Award of Excellence in the course Law and Justice of War and a Certificate of Recognition for volunteering more than fifty hours of direct client representation through the Legal Practice Skills Center.

Other work includes interning for the Advocates for Human Rights in Minneapolis and assisting with the report A House with Two Rooms: Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia Diaspora Project. Ms. Loomis also was a judicial intern for Judge Eide of Carver County.

Ms. Loomis began working as a law clerk at Bloomquist Law Firm in the summer of 2008. We are excited to welcome her to our firm and congratulate her on her admission to the bar.

Ms. Loomis is a qualified neutral under Rule 114 of the Minnesota General Rules of Practice and has been approved for inclusion on the Civil Facilitative/Hybrid Rule 114 neutrals roster.

Currently, Ms. Loomis is active in the Chaska Rotary and arranges speakers for the group. In May 2010, she spoke to the New Prague High School regarding the Minnesota Supreme Court's traveling oral arguments through the Minnesota State Bar Association's Civic Education program. Ms. Loomis also serves as a mentor in the MentorOne program at Chanhassen High School.

In her spare time, Ms. Loomis enjoys horseback riding and eventing, and she has owned her event horse for over twelve years.

Amanda Olson

Paralegal Amanda Olson graduated from the Minnesota School of Business in September 2007 with the highest honors. She is also a certified horse trainer and veterinary assistant. Amanda has always had a passion for horses and working in a law firm that focuses on equine law allows her to combine her passion with her career. In her free time, Amanda enjoys spending time out at the stables. She trail rides and competes in barrel racing at local jackpots and rodeos with her palomino horse Cody.

Amanda is a member of the Minnesota Paralegal Association and National Federation of Paralegal Associations.