Upcoming Webinar Explores Opportunities in Animal Law Practice

October 20, 2022

From the cat that walks on your keyboard to the dog that greets you enthusiastically at the door, animals bring so much joy to people that it’s no surprise they are the subject of numerous legal and legislative issues.

On October 26, the Animal Law Committee of the D.C. Bar Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Community will explore practice opportunities in the field of animal law during the webinar “Representing the Fuzzy, Feathered, and Finned: Incorporating Animal Law Into Your Practice.”

Addressing a range of opportunities for pro bono and private practice, the panelists will highlight ways for attorneys to get involved at any level, says committee cochair Rebecca Cary. “Whether you’re [an attorney] looking to get into animal law, a law student, or someone just curious about what types of cases are involved in animal law, our diverse panel will have something for you.”

The Animal Law Committee has recently hosted a number of events addressing both practical and policy-based issues in animal-related legal practice, including the relationship between animal abuse and domestic abuse, custody disputes in animal ownership, and trust and estate issues involved in providing for pets after their owner’s death.

In recent weeks animal law has been the subject of attention at the nation’s highest court. On October 11 the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case of National Pork Producers Council v. Ross, a suit raised by pork producers in response to a 2018 California law prohibiting the sale in California of any pork derived from animals confined in a cruel manner, which is defined to include those without at least 24 square feet of usable floor space.

Nationally, pregnant sows are commonly held in “gestation crates” that measure 2 feet by 7 feet, housing that does not allow the animal to turn around. The pork producer petitioners argue that the law unconstitutionally impedes interstate commerce, violating the Constitution’s Commerce Clause.

Although the Animal Law Committee has no direct involvement in the suit, committee members have had a hand in the case and in local legislation and litigation associated with animal welfare. Cary, for instance, is a senior staff attorney at the Humane Society of the United States, which is a respondent in the case alongside the state of California. The Humane Society was primarily responsible for the ballot initiative that resulted in California’s law, part of the organization’s ongoing efforts relating to animal welfare legislation.

Committee cochair Greg Lipper first became involved with the committee at a Bar event discussing opportunities to work with the Animal Legal Defense Fund. Lipper’s practice at LeGrand Law PLLC doesn’t focus on animal law, but he has an interest in finding intersections between his practice and animal law issues.

Such an opportunity presented itself in the National Pork case. Lipper filed an amicus brief in the suit, supporting the respondents on behalf of a group of constitutional law professors that includes Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California Berkeley School of Law.

“It’s a dormant Commerce Clause case,” Lipper says. “Obviously, it’s heavily animal-related because it’s about the conditions in which pigs are being raised, but this is also a question of federalism — the role of states versus the federal government in economic legislation, and the role of courts versus Congress in reviewing legislation.”

Other members of the Animal Law Committee have, as part of their private pro bono work, been involved in animal-related legislation. For example, Elizabeth Symonds has worked with the Maryland Humane Society in its annual legislative activities involving outreach to the Maryland General Assembly.

“We target five or six bills. We set up meetings with our representatives and senators to talk about this legislation,” Symonds says. She notes that in addition to legislative and policy work, there are also opportunities for attorneys interested in animal law litigation. “The Animal Legal Defense Fund is one of a number of organizations that has a pretty vibrant pro bono program,” Symonds says.

From cats and dogs to pigs and wildlife, the Animal Law Committee aims to continue to foster discussion on numerous animal-related issues and welcome Bar members who in their own practices work on behalf of animals.

“Representing the Fuzzy, Feathered, and Finned: Incorporating Animal Law Into Your Practice” takes place from 12 to 2 p.m. on October 26 via Zoom. Register here to attend.