National Leader and Respected Pioneer in Animal Law

As an important and emerging new legal field, Animal Law includes all types of animal-related matters, including animal welfare, rights, and protection. The Law Office of Barbara J. Gislason is recognized nationally and globally as Barbara is an Animal Law pioneer and visionary. For more than 20 years, she has been dedicated to working with individuals, families, nonprofits, businesses, and governmental entities on a broad range of animal-related issues.

Handling All Legal Matters Affecting Animals

Barbara provides comprehensive legal counsel to clients on transactional, litigation, and regulatory matters in Animal Law. Not only does she provide legal advice and counsel to clients regarding these matters, but she also prepares clients for mediation and accompanies them to sessions, skillfully negotiating on their behalf.

Now that scientists, including neurologists, have proven that animals are sentient beings, Barbara monitors how lawmakers and courts, both in the United States and globally, are increasingly recognizing animal dignity, and utilizing best interest principles in their laws and decisions.

The services Barbara provides include:

• Pet Custody and Ownership Disputes: Advocates for where an animal should reside when a co-habiting couple separates, a married couple divorces, or when there are claims of animal abandonment. Disputes may also include third party rights. Barbara has more expansively explored the intricacies of this subject in her book, Pet Law and Custody: Establishing a Worthy and Equitable Jurisprudence for the Evolving Family, and in the Pet Custody Disputes entry she wrote for the Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Animal Law, the recently released and first ever Animal Law Encyclopedia.

• Animal Laws, Regulations, Ordinances, and Laws: Having worked with local, state, and federal governments on the creation of laws and ordinances regarding pet ownership, pet trusts, and emergency management, Barbara utilizes this expertise in client representation.

• Dangerous Dogs, Bites, and Attacks: Advocates for dog owners facing a civil lawsuit, dangerous dog proceeding, or criminal prosecution in a variety of settings. Gislason is aware of how important it is to promote responsible dog ownership in these proceedings.

• Foster and Rescue Issues: Provides legal guidance for shelters, rescues, fosters, and individuals working with rescue dogs, cats, and birds. Her services include contract drafting and interpretation, helping to resolve disputes within organizations, and addressing liability concerns.

• Contract Issues: Barbara is committed to helping clients navigate the complexities of contract issues involving animals, with services that include comprehensive contract drafting, thorough contract reviews, and dedicated representation in contract disputes. While she understands many prefer to use a do-it-yourself approach by cobbling various provisions together, long term interests are best served when the drafting is a cooperative effort between the client and lawyer.

• Equine Law: Barbara provides legal guidance in various aspects of ownership and co-ownership, caretaking, breeding and reproductive rights, equitable interests, and familial interests. Services include initial consultations and legal advice; contract drafting and review; representation in mediation, arbitration, and litigation; animal welfare and compliance; and helping clients navigate the complexities of Equine Law.

• Property and Replevin Claims: She helps in navigating the best course of action in disputes between purported animal owners or co-owners. Some of these matters are instigated with a demand letter followed by a statutory action replacing what used to be a common law replevin action.

As Barbara possesses a deep understanding of the complexities of Property Law within the Animal Law context, she recognizes the tension between traditional views and more advanced perspectives involving animal sentience. As a third-generation lawyer with a solid foundation in legal reasoning, she thoughtfully approaches each challenge and is willing to meet the status quo with proposals for innovative solutions.

Passionate about all matters involving animals, Barbara welcomes the opportunity to meet with you and is often able to provide valuable insights in a one-hour initial consultation.

A Long History and Many Achievements in Animal Law

Barbara J. Gislason was the founding chair of the Animal Law Committee of the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) and the Animal Law Committee and Section. She led the creation of Animal Law Committees in the American Bar Association (ABA) TIPS Section, and in the Paris-based international bar association, the Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA). She has helped draft and pass laws, including the Pet Trust Law in Minnesota and the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) uniform law addressing the portability of veterinary licenses in disasters. Her groundbreaking work has contributed to the normalization of Animal Law as a practice area across borders.

Following Hurricane Katrina, Barbara founded and led the American Bar Association (ABA) Animal Disaster Relief Network, which included participants from more than 70 state and city bar associations, government entities, veterinary associations, nonprofits, law schools, and businesses. She wrote regularly published reports and created and convened the ABA-TIPS Select Legal Panel on Emergency Management Regarding Animals that drafted model language on hold periods.

She spent five years drafting a 761-page book entitled Pet Law and Custody: Establishing a Worthy and Equitable Jurisprudence for the Evolving Family for the ABA Section of Family Law. Cover quotes for her book came from Professor Bernard Rollins, credited with the passage of the Animal Welfare Act, Temple Grandin, who has helped advance animal welfare for farm animals, and Raj Panjwani, an international expert in wildlife law based in India. Others praising her book within its covers include past presidents of the (1) ABA, (2) Uniform Law Commission, (3) International Academy of Family lawyers, (4) ABA Section of Family Law, and (5) UIA Family Law Commission, as well as notable authors and judges.

To learn more about Barbara’s pioneering efforts and achievements in Animal Law, please review her Animal Law testimonials. More information about Babara’s accomplishments, including her public policy contributions, is available under About.

Contact a Minnesota Animal Law Attorney for More Information

To arrange a consultation with one of the country’s leading Animal Law attorneys whose law practice is based in Minneapolis, call the Law Office of Barbara J. Gislason toll-free at 763-220-2983 or use the firm’s online contact form to initiate a consultation. The firm serves clients statewide, including Anoka, Hennepin, Ramsey, Dakota, and Washington Counties in the metro area, and as far away as Koochiching, Stearns, and Wadena Counties. She is also contacted by lawyers around the country who need her broad knowledge and problem-solving abilities in this field.