Born in Minneapolis and raised in Pullman, Washington, Katherine E. Rollins is a passionate and assertive advocate for employee rights. Katy’s empathetic nature, stemming from her passion for working with people and background in the hospitality industry, allows her to deeply understand her clients’ situations.

While in law school, Katy honed her legal skills working in various clinic programs, including the Health Law Clinic and with the Office of the Minnesota Appellate Public Defender. Katy is motivated to practice employment law as a way to advocate for individuals facing workplace rights violations and empower workers to fight for more equitable and inclusive organizations. She finds gratification in being able to help expand employee protections and deliver resolutions to her clients, however that might come.

In her free time, Katy is a member of the legislative committee for the Minnesota chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association. There, she has the opportunity to expand workers’ rights legislatively, outside of work for her clients. When Katy is not advocating on behalf of employees, you can find her scoping out the best taco trucks, cheering on the Twins, or going to see some of her favorite artists, like St. Vincent, Sir Chloe, and Emotional Oranges, in concert!

Education

  • Mitchell Hamline School of Law, St. Paul, MN, J.D., summa cum laude
  • Washington State University, Honors College, B.A. in Hospitality Business Management

Admissions

  • Minnesota Supreme Court
  • U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota

Professional Memberships

  • Minnesota State Bar Association, Labor & Employment Law Section
  • Hennepin County Bar Association
  • National Lawyers Guild, Housing Committee
  • National Lawyers Guild, Labor & Employment
  • Minnesota Women Lawyers
  • Federal Bar Association, Minnesota Chapter

Honors

  • Burton Award for Excellence in Legal Writing. Mitchell Hamline School of Law, 2018 

Publications & Presentations

Representative Cases

  • Counsel in Delgado v. Bemidji State University, No. 04-CV-23-890 (Minn. Dist. Ct. Jan. 8, 2024) (Defendant’s motion for summary judgment denied)
  • Counsel in Santos v. Bemidji State University, No. 04-CV-23-1668 (Minn. Dist. Ct. Jan. 8, 2024) (Defendant’s motion for summary judgment denied)
  • Counsel in Malimage v. AvePoint, No. 22-cv-2990 (WMW/ECW) (D. Minn. July 18, 2023) (Defendant’s partial motion to dismiss denied)
  • Counsel in Unbehaun v. Minnesota Energy Resources Corporation, No. 23-CV-1145 (NEB/DTS) (D. Minn. June 5, 2024) (Defendant’s motion for judgment on pleadings denied in substantial part)

Client Reviews

  • “If you’re looking for advice or representation on your employment issue as an employee I cannot recommend Katherine/Kati Rollins at Wanta Thome highly enough. She took a lot of time to listen to my case and my story surrounding my termination and even though the end result wasn’t what I hoped for and I wound up simply taking my employer’s offer rather than pursuing what would have been a long and drawn out affair with no guarantees Kati was an incredible resource along the journey.” –Erin E.
  • “I had an amazing experience working with Katy Rollins. Any sort of legal case is tough and Katy always made sure to check in on me. She was very quick to respond to emails and calls. I wouldn’t recommend anyone else!” –Janelle O.
  • “Shawn Wanta and Katy are excellent attorneys. Being a female, Katy had been one of my favorite lawyers. She is persistent, technology savvy, quick to learn, quick witted and fights for her clients. Shawn Wanta is a great role model to many attorneys out there.”  –Nali M.

Practice Areas

  • Employment Discrimination
  • Employee Rights
  • Wage Laws
  • Class Action