The Law Offices of Amy A. Breyer, LLC is the first
animal law practice in Illinois. Ms. Breyer is licensed to practice in the state of Illinois, the federal Northern and
Central Districts of Illinois, as well as the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. A 2000
graduate of the Northwestern University School of Law, her caseload involves primarily litigation, including veterinary malpractice,
civil cruelty claims, condominium/zoning issues, dog bites, consumer fraud, contractual disputes with breeders, as well as
various other torts and negligence. The Law Offices of Amy A. Breyer, LLC has been featured in the Chicago Tribune’s
Sunday Magazine, the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago's newspaper for
the legal profession, The Daily Law Bulletin, the Illinois Bar Journal, as well as the London Sunday
Telegraph and China Standard.
Academic and Bar Activities
* Inaugural Chair, Animal Law Section, Illinois State Bar
Association, 2009-10
* Moderator & Coordinator, 1st Annual Animal Law Continuing
Legal Education Seminar, Illinois State Bar Association, 2009
* Member, ABA-TIPS Animal Law sub-committee involved in drafting
"Recovery for Harm to a Companion Animal Act", 2008-09
* Founding Chair, Animal Law Committee, Illinois State Bar
Association, 2008-09
* Coordinating Chair, Select Legal Panel of Emergency Mgmt.
Regarding Animals, 2007-08
* Member, Animal
Disaster Relief Network and Select Legal Panel of Emergency Management Regarding Animals, American Bar Association 2006-07
* Member, ABA-TIPS
Animal Law Committee, 2006-07, 2007-08
* Jury Verdicts
Editor, Animal Legal Reports, 2006 - present
* Adjunct professor
of animal law, DePaul University College of Law, 2004, 2006; guest speaker 2007
* Member, Agricultural
Law Section Council, Illinois State Bar Association, 2004 - present
* Chair, CBA Solo/Small
Firm Practitioners Committee, 2005-06
*
Vice-chair, CBA Solo/Small Firm Practitioners Committee, 2004-05
*
Secretary, CBA Solo/Small Firm Practitioners Committee, 2003-04
* Founder, Chicago Animal Shelter Alliance. C.A.S.A.,
a pro bono project of the Animal Law Committee, was designed to help the city's shelters work together on problems such as
pet overpopulation. Ms. Breyer also moderated the meetings for more than a year.
* Principal founder, Animal Law Committee of the Chicago
Bar Association. Ms.
Breyer also served two terms as the committee's inaugural chair, 2002-03, 2003-04.
* Founder, Student
Animal Legal Defense Fund chapter, Northwestern University School of Law. Ms. Breyer also served two terms as inaugural president
of the chapter, 1998-99, 1999-00.
Speaking & Other Engagements
* Judge, 6th Annual Animal Law Moot Court Competition, Harvard
University Law School, February 6-8, 2009
* Speaker, Rebuilding the Ark: Replevin, Disaster
Planning and Other Lessons Learned from Hurricane Katrina, Texas State Bar Association, 8th Annual Animal Law Institute, July
18, 2008
* Speaker, Divorce,
Protective Orders and Pets, The Anti-Cruelty Society, First Strike: Protecting People and Pets Conference, April 22, 2008
* Speaker, Hot Topics in Agricultural Law: Vote for Humane Farming and Nobody Gets
(as) Hurt, Illinois State Bar Association, Annual Agricultural Law Conference, Feb. 8, 2008; also Chicago Bar Association,
Annual Animal Law Conference, March 26, 2008
* Judge, 4th Annual Animal Law Moot Court Competition, Harvard University
Law School, February 23-25, 2007
* Speaker, What Exactly Did You Lose and What's it Worth Anyway?, Lewis &
Clark Law School, 14th Annual Animal Law Conference, Oct. 14, 2006
* Speaker, Animal Law in Times of Crisis, Washington State Bar Association,
4th Annual Animal Law Conference, April 21, 2006
* Speaker, Animal Law: The Chicago Dog (Veterinary Malpractice), Chicago Bar
Association, Annual Animal Law Conference, April 6, 2006
* Speaker, "My Client is a Cat..." (and other ways to completely thwart the development
of caselaw you seek...), DuPage County Bar Association, Civil Law and Practice Committee, October
20, 2005
* Judge, 2nd Annual Animal Law Moot
Court Competition, Harvard University Law School, February 25-27, 2005
* Speaker, Beyond Felony Provisions: The Next Generation of Cruelty Laws, Yale
University School of Law, The Future of Animal Law, ALDF Conference, Nov. 6, 2004
* Speaker, the Illinois Paralegal Association Annual Conference, Nov. 2004,
Nov. 2002
* Speaker, Animal Law 101 for Legal Professionals, Lewis & Clark Law School,
12th Annual Animal Law Conference, Oct. 9, 2004
* Coach, 1st Annual Animal Law Moot Court Competition, Harvard University Law
School, Feb. 2004
* Speaker, What is Animal Law?, University of Illinois Department of Animal
Sciences, 5th Annual Humane Education Seminar, April 16, 2003
* Ms. Breyer has also spoken to various advocacy organizations, such as D.AW.G. (Dog Advisory Work Group, a court advocacy
program), breed rescues and student groups, including Northwestern University, Northwestern University School of Law, Michigan
State University Detroit College of Law, DePaul University School of Law-Jones High School Prep, Kent Law School and
the John Marshall School of Law.
* Prior to law school,
Ms. Breyer worked in journalism for more than a decade. She was a newswriter/producer
at CNN in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., WTTG-TV in Washington, D.C., and WPIX-TV in New York.
A native of New York, she graduated from Boston University in 1986, B.S.B.A. cum laude.
Professional Memberships
* Chicago Bar Association
* Illinois State Bar Association
* American Bar Association
Authorship
Vote for Humane Farming and Nobody Gets (as) Hurt, Illinois State
Bar Association Agricultural Law Newsletter, May 2008, Vol. 17, No. 8
Laws & Paws, a periodic legal informational column for Chicagoland Tails magazine, a bi-monthly magazine for Chicagoland pet owners.
Asset Forfeiture and Animal Cruelty: Making One of the Most Powerful Tools
in the Law Work for the Most Powerless Members of Society, Vol. 6, Animal L., 203 (2000). The article was the inaugural
winner of the Animal Law Journal's student writing competition.
Other Practice Areas
For a list of other litigation/legal services Ms. Breyer offers:
