2017 Venue

The conference will begin Friday evening*, October 13th, with a Welcome Reception and Keynote presentation at the Hilton Portland Downtown, located at 921 SW 6th Avenue in downtown Portland, Oregon. Conference attendees will receive their registration materials before being treated to a fun evening of networking with fellow animal advocates while enjoying tasty plant-based appetizers and drinks. Joyce Tischler, founder and general counsel of the Animal Legal Defense Fund and Pamela Frasch, assistant dean of the Animal Law Program and executive director of the Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis & Clark Law School, will conclude the evening with a special keynote presentation looking back at 25 years of the Animal Law Conference.

All plenary sessions on Saturday, October 14th and concurrent sessions on Sunday, October 15th will also take place at the Hilton Portland, in the Grand Ballroom (located on the ballroom level). Breakfast should be planned for on your own, but coffee and tea will be served before the sessions begin and snacks will be available during each break. A delicious, plant-based, catered lunch will be served from 12:15-1:45 p.m. on Saturday and is included with your registration fee.

There will be an hour-long break from 5:00-6:00 p.m. after the plenary sessions conclude on Saturday and then attendees who have pre-registered for the Banquet Dinner and Keynote Presentation will convene back at the Grand Ballroom for cocktails, dinner and talk and book signing by author and biologist, Jonathan Balcombe.

Sunday, October 15th is a half day, with concurrent sessions in either side of the Grand Ballroom. Coffee, tea and snacks will be available again on Sunday and the conference will conclude just after 12:30 p.m.

*Note: the Animal Legal Defense Fund is hosting their first annual Student Convention on Friday, October 13th from 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the Hilton Portland. Law students registering for the Animal Law Conference are encouraged to come early to attend the Student Convention as well!