Agenda

To download a PDF copy of the agenda, click here.

To access the Animal Law Conference event app, click here.

6:00 – 8:30 p.m.

Welcome Reception

The conference kicked off with an evening reception and keynote presentation in the Chicago Ballroom, 5th Floor, at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile. Guests enjoyed appetizers and drinks while networking with fellow conference attendees.
540 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611

7:15 – 7:30 p.m.

Welcomes & Introductions

Pamela Frasch, Associate Dean, Animal Law Program; Executive Director, Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis & Clark Law School

Stephen Wells, Executive Director, Animal Legal Defense Fund

7:30 – 8:00 p.m.

Keynote Presentation: Imagining Our Vegan Future

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Seth Tibbott, Chairman and Founder, The Tofurky Company

Introduction by: Pamela Frasch, Associate Dean, Animal Law Program; Executive Director, Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis & Clark Law School

Attendees joined Seth Tibbott, chairman & founder of The Tofurky Company, as we looked at where vegan culture has been, where it is now and where it is headed.

All panel sessions on Saturday took place in the Chicago Ballroom, 5th Floor, at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile.
540 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611

9:00 – 10:00 a.m.

Farmed Animals: Getting to Know Your Client

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Susie Coston, National Shelter Director, Farm Sanctuary

Joyce Tischler, Founder, Animal Legal Defense Fund

Moderator: Rajesh Reddy, Interim Animal Law LLM Director; Visiting Professor, Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis & Clark Law School

The American agriculture industry annually raises and kills approximately nine billion land animals. The opening panel introduced us to farmed animals, the conditions they are raised in, and the federal and state laws that offer them protection.

10:00 – 10:15 a.m.

Break

10:15 – 11:45 a.m.

We Can See You: Legal Strategies to Increase Industry Transparency and Accountability

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Laura Hagen, Counsel, Captive Animal Law Enforcement, PETA Foundation

Matthew Liebman, Director of Litigation, Animal Legal Defense Fund

Michelle Welch, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Virginia Attorney General’s Office

Moderator: Tom Linney, Pro Bono Program Director, Animal Legal Defense Fund

“The front is long” is a common battle cry, and certainly applies here as advocates work to create new avenues of protection for farmed animals. The panel explored three different, yet complementary, approaches that are building momentum: consumer protection and labeling lawsuits, state legislation to ban certain practices, and criminal prosecutions of persons cruel to farmed animals.

11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Lunch

1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

Collateral Damage: Factory Farming Impacts Beyond the Animals

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Marianne Engelman Lado, Of Counsel, Environmental Law Clinic, Columbia Law School; Of Counsel, Poverty & Race Research Action Council; and Lecturer, Yale University School of Forestry & Environmental Studies

Claire Fitch, Director of Outreach, Farm Forward

Cristina Stella, Staff Attorney, Animal Legal Defense Fund

Moderator: Becky Jenkins, Aquatic Animal Law Initiative Fellow, Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis & Clark Law School

CAFOs also pollute the air and water, have a dramatic impact on climate change, and harm farmworkers, nearby residents, and food safety.

2:30 – 2:45 p.m.

Break

2:45 – 4:15 p.m.

Healthy, Kind, and Sustainable Alternatives to Eating Animals: Law, Policy, and Food Culture

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Christie Lagally, Founder and CEO, Seattle Food Tech

Miyoko Schinner, Founder and CEO, Miyoko’s Kitchen

Moderator: Pamela Hart, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis & Clark Law School

The industrialized farming industry insists that animal food products are here to stay. But, innovators are funding and developing wonderful new plant-based food products. Attendees hear the latest, and learned about the unique law and policy issues these creators face.

4:15-4:30 p.m.

Break

4:30-5:30 p.m.

Ethics and the Animal Lawyer

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Russ Mead, Shared Earth Foundation Visiting Professor, Lewis & Clark Law School

Moderator: Nicole Pallotta, Academic Outreach Manager, Animal Legal Defense Fund

This one-hour ethics session was meant for attorneys seeking continuing legal education (CLE) credits. All other attendees enjoyed a break at this time, before the banquet dinner and keynote presentation.

5:30-6:30 p.m.

Break

6:30 – 9:00 p.m.

Banquet Dinner and Keynote Presentation

Chicago Ballroom, 5th Floor, Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile

6:30 – 7:45 p.m.

Banquet Dinner

7:45 – 8:30 p.m.

Keynote Presentation: Seeing the Victims and Survivors of the Anthropocene

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Jo-Anne McArthur, Photojournalist, Author and Educator, We Animals

Introduction by: Stephen Wells, Executive Director, Animal Legal Defense Fund

8:30 – 9:00 p.m.

Book Signing

Jo-Anne McArthur, Photojournalist, Author and Educator, We Animals

All concurrent panel sessions on Sunday took place in the Chicago Ballrooms D & E, 5th Floor, at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile.
540 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611

9:00 – 10:15 a.m. Chicago Ballroom D

In Search of Race and Gender Diversity in Animal Law: Finding Workable Approaches

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pattrice jones, Ecofeminist Writer, Educator and Activist; Co-founder, VINE Sanctuary

Carolyn Walker, Labor and Employment Attorney

Moderator: Joyce Tischler, Founder, Animal Legal Defense Fund

With an interactive format, the Animal Law Conference continued to highlight these critically important issues and provided a safe environment to discuss and explore options for inclusive growth.

To view the conference’s anti-harassment policy, click here.

10:15 – 10:30 a.m.

Break

10:30 – 11:30 a.m. Chicago Ballroom D

“Factory Farming” of Other Species: What You May Not Know, and What You Can Do About It

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Kathy Hessler, Clinical Professor of Law and Animal Law Clinic Director, Lewis & Clark Law School

Kim Ockene, Managing Attorney, Companion Animals, The Humane Society of the United States

Moderator: Priscilla Rader Culp, Education Coordinator, Animal Legal Defense Fund

Factory farming extends far beyond cows, pigs, turkeys, and chickens. In this panel, we considered the legal and ethical impacts of intensive confinement of other beings such as dogs, cats, bees, fish, and others.

10:30 – 11:30 a.m. Chicago Ballroom E

Pasture to Prosecution: Using the Power of Anti-Cruelty Laws to Protect Farmed Animals

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John Hopkinson, Attorney

David Rosengard, Staff Attorney, Animal Legal Defense Fund

Moderator: Diane Balkin, Senior Staff Attorney, Animal Legal Defense Fund

Anti-cruelty laws have become more effective tools to protect companion animals. This panel provided insights into how state criminal laws can be applied to protect farmed animals, and the hurdles that must be overcome for success.

11:30 – 11:45 a.m.

Break

11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. Chicago Ballroom D

A Fork in the Road: Reduce or Replace

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Jessica Almy, Policy Director, The Good Food Institute

Brian Kateman, Co-founder and President, The Reducetarian Foundation

Moderator: Kathy Hessler, Clinical Professor of Law and Animal Law Clinic Director, Lewis & Clark Law School

This panel explored the tension between those who advocate for reform in how animals are raised and killed for food, and those who reject incremental progress in favor of replacing animal products altogether.

11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. Chicago Ballroom E

Farmed Animals Around the World: Emerging Policies and Practices

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Tony Gerrans, LL.M. Candidate, Lewis & Clark Law School

Sharon Nunez, Co-founder and President, Animal Equality

Moderator: Anthony Eliseuson, Senior Staff Attorney, Animal Legal Defense Fund

Factory farming is a global phenomenon, with intensive confinement and other negative practices spreading to a host of countries. These distinguished panelists brought us legal and cultural perspectives from Europe, Africa, Asia, and beyond.

12:45 p.m. Chicago Ballroom D

Closing Remarks

Pamela Frasch, Associate Dean, Animal Law Program; Executive Director, Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis & Clark Law School

12:45 p.m. Chicago Ballroom E

Closing Remarks

Joyce Tischler, Founder, Animal Legal Defense Fund