TOPEKA, Kan. – Attorney Diane L. Bellquist, of Joseph, Hollander & Craft LLC, is the newly elected President-Elect of the Topeka Bar Association. Bellquist has been a member of the TBA Board of Directors since 2011, most recently serving as the organization’s treasurer. She was honored as the TBA’s Outstanding Young Lawyer in 2012 and is a Past President of the TBA’s Young Lawyers’ Division.
“I’m truly honored by the vote of confidence from my colleagues as President-Elect,” Bellquist said. “I’ve been a proud member of the TBA since 2004. Our organization sponsors numerous worthwhile projects to support the legal profession and the judicial branch. It is a privilege to be part of such an influential organization.”
Bellquist joined Joseph, Hollander & Craft in 2014 and practices primarily in the area of professional licensure. Bellquist – who has more than 10 years’ experience working for regulatory agencies of the State of Kansas – utilizes her government experience to defend licensed individuals and entities before their respective regulatory boards. As the former Assistant General Counsel for the Kansas Board of Healing Arts and former General Counsel to the Office of the State Bank Commissioner, she has extensive experience with both healthcare and financial licensing and regulatory laws.
Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers® honored Bellquist in both 2015 and 2016 as one of the profession’s “Rising Stars”. She is a Barrister in Topeka’s Sam A. Crow Inns of Court and holds the Martindale-Hubble Law Directory’s “BV” rating. In addition to her active role with the TBA, Bellquist is a Past President of the Women Attorneys Association of Topeka.
Bellquist received her bachelor’s degree from Moorhead State University in Moorhead, Minn., with dual majors in criminal justice and paralegal studies, and earned her J.D. from the University of Kansas School of Law. She is a member of the Professional Liability Defense Federation and holds an attorney certification from the Federation of Associations of Regulatory Boards.
With 14 years of military service, Bellquist holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel with the Kansas Air National Guard.
Joseph, Hollander & Craft has 19 lawyers and offices in Kansas City, Lawrence, Topeka and Wichita. The firm’s primary practice areas include civil litigation, commercial law, complex criminal defense, DUI defense, employment law, family law, and professional disciplinary defense. The firm’s attorneys represent clients in municipal, state, federal and appellate courts and before administrative panels.