2024 Agenda

6:00 – 8:30 p.m. PT

Welcome Reception

Grand Ballroom I

The conference will kick off with an evening reception in the Grand Ballroom I at the Portland Hilton Hotel in downtown Portland, OR. Conference attendees will receive their event badge before being treated to a fun evening of networking with fellow animal advocates while enjoying tasty plant-based appetizers and drinks. The welcome reception will not be livestreamed.

Welcome remarks by:

Chris Green, Executive Director, Animal Legal Defense Fund

Megan Senatori, Associate Director, Center for Animal Law Studies, Lewis & Clark Law School

Saturday

The morning plenary session on Saturday begins at 9:00 a.m. PT. All plenary sessions on Saturday will take place in the Grand Ballroom I at the Portland Hilton Hotel in downtown Portland, OR, and will be livestreamed via our virtual event platform. A light breakfast, coffee, and tea will be available from 8:00-9:00 a.m. PT, and a delicious, plant-based lunch will be served. Breakfast, lunch, and snacks are included in your registration fee. Saturday plenary sessions will end at 5:30 p.m. PT.  Join us Saturday evening for the banquet dinner, awards ceremony, and keynote presentation in the Grand Ballroom I. The awards ceremony and keynote presentation will be livestreamed.

8:00 – 9:00 a.m. PT

Registration and Light Breakfast & Coffee

9:00 – 10:15 a.m. PT

Navigating Politics to Protect Animals

Plenary Roundtable Discussion, Grand Ballroom I

Rachel Atcheson, Government Staffer  

Manny Rutinel, Representative, Colorado State House

Speaker/Moderator: Chris Green, Executive Director, Animal Legal Defense Fund

In this important election year, politics is at the forefront of everyone’s mind. This panel will provide an overview of the ways animal advocates can engage with politics and public policy, sharing perspectives from various levels of government.

10:15 – 10:45 a.m. PT

Break

10:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PT

Protecting Farmed Animals & Preserving Land Resources

Plenary Panel, Grand Ballroom I

Cheryl Leahy, Executive Director, Animal Outlook

Cynthia von Schlichten, General Counsel, Farm Sanctuary

Speaker/Moderator: Jamie McLaughlin, Associate Staff Attorney, Nonhuman Rights Project

This panel explores farmed animal advocacy and land resource protection. Panelists will address recent efforts to challenge farmed animal exemptions from legal protections, utilizing private prosecution to protect farmed animals, and the Bureau of Land Management’s mismanagement of public lands.

A special thanks to our Gold Sponsor, Beyond Meat, for sponsoring this Panel.

12:00 – 1:00 p.m. PT

Lunch

A special thanks to our Silver Sponsor, Cat Koshkin & Patrick Cleary, for sponsoring the Lunch.

1:00 – 2:15 p.m. PT

Laboratory Animal Legislation, Litigation, and Care Standards

Plenary Panel, Grand Ballroom I

Rebecca Critser, Adjunct Professor, Center for Animal Law Studies, Lewis & Clark Law School

Justin Goodman, Senior Vice President, Advocacy and Public Policy, White Coat Waste

Katherine Meyer, Inaugural Director, Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law and Policy Clinic, Harvard Law School

Speaker/Moderator: Paul Locke, Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

This panel will address cutting-edge issues related to laboratory animal law in the arenas of legislation, litigation, and care standards. Innovations discussed will include recent state and federal legislative proposals to improve the likelihood of rehoming animals formerly used in laboratories; an unprecedented $35 million dollar fine against a research animal breeder; and a recent American Bar Association resolution to promote the development and use of methods that aim to replace, reduce, and refine the use of animal models in research and testing.

2:15 – 2:45 p.m. PT

Break

2:45 – 4:00 p.m. PT

Juveniles Committing Animal Cruelty: Discussing Risk Factors, Prevalence, Impact & Responses

Plenary Panel, Grand Ballroom I

Meena Alagappan, Executive Director, Humane Education Advocates Reaching Teachers (HEART)

Lacey Levitt, Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Speaker/Moderator: Kathleen Wood, Senior Staff Attorney, Animal Legal Defense Fund

Maltreating animals is not the sole province of adults: children and adolescents also harm animals, including in ways that violate criminal laws. Some studies estimate that up to 40% of adolescent males have engaged in some form of animal maltreatment. This panel explores the risk factors giving rise to this behavior, disambiguates between different types of animal maltreatment engaged in by juveniles, spotlights the implications animal maltreatment has for youths, and discusses effective prevention and intervention strategies.

4:00 – 4:15 p.m. PT

Break

4:15 – 5:30 p.m. PT

Recent Victories in International Animal Protection

Plenary Panel, Grand Ballroom I

Giulia Malerbi, Head of Global Policy, Aquatic Life Institute

Borami Seo, Director of Government Affairs, Humane Society International/Korea

Ben Williamson, Executive Director, Animal Outlook

Speaker/Moderator: Joyce Tischler, Professor of Practice, Center for Animal Law Studies, Lewis & Clark Law School

This panel will delve into the diverse strategies, challenges, and recent victories encountered in ongoing efforts to safeguard the protection of animals worldwide. The discussion will include updates about successful bans on live animal export, the dog meat trade, and octopus farming. Panelists will examine how public pressure, legislative action, and global collaboration are driving meaningful change in safeguarding animal welfare and promoting sustainable solutions.

A special thanks to our Gold Sponsor, Mission Wired, for sponsoring this Panel.

5:30 – 6:30 p.m. PT

Break

6:30 – 7:00 p.m. PT

Pre- Banquet Dinner Reception

Join us Saturday evening in the Galleria room for wine and beer before the banquet dinner, awards ceremony, and keynote presentation! The reception is open to all conference attendees.

7:00 – 9:00 p.m. PT

Banquet Dinner, Awards Ceremony, and Keynote Presentation

Join us Saturday evening in the Grand Ballroom I for the banquet dinner, awards ceremony, and keynote presentation by Ethan Brown, Founder and CEO of Beyond Meat. The Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Pro Bono Achievement Awards and the Animal Law Conference’s Lifetime Achievement Awards will be presented before the keynote presentation. The in-person dinner is for banquet ticket holders only. The awards ceremony and keynote presentation will be live streamed.

7:30 – 7:50 p.m. PT

Welcome Remarks & Animal Legal Defenuse Fund’s Pro Bono Achievement Awards

Joyce Tischler, Professor of Practice, Center for Animal Law Studies, Lewis & Clark Law School

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

Andrea Rodricks, Pro Bono Managing Attorney, Animal Legal Defense Fund

7:50 – 8:05 p.m. PT

Animal Law Conference’s Lifetime Achievement Award presented to Katherine Meyer and Eric Glitzenstein

Presented by Chris Green, Executive Director, Animal Legal Defense Fund

8:05 – 8:30 p.m. PT

Keynote Presentation 

Ethan Brown, Founder, President, and CEO, Beyond Meat 

Introduced by Joyce Tischler, Professor of Practice, Center for Animal Law Studies, Lewis & Clark Law School

A special thanks to our Presenting Sponsor, Carol House Furniture, for sponsoring the Banquet Dinner.

Sunday

The morning plenary session begins on Sunday at 9:00 a.m. PT and will take place in the Grand Ballroom I at the Portland Hilton Hotel in downtown Portland, OR. The two subsequent concurrent sessions will take place in the Grand Ballroom I and the Grand Ballroom II. All sessions will be livestreamed via our virtual event platform. A light breakfast, coffee, and tea will be available from 8:00-9:00 a.m. PT. Snacks will be provided during the final break, including treats from Voodoo Doughnuts. The conference concludes at 1:30 p.m. PT.  

8:00 – 9:00 a.m. PT

Light Breakfast & Coffee

9:00 – 10:15 a.m. PT

Translating the Language of Whales & Other Species: Legal, Ethical, and Policy Implications

Plenary Panel, Grand Ballroom I

César Rodriguez-Garavito, Director, More Than Human Rights (MOTH) Project, NYU School of Law

David Gruber, Founder and President, Project CETI (Cetacean Translation Initiative)

Speaker/Moderator: Hira Jaleel, Animal Law Teaching Fellow and Adjunct Professor, Center for Animal Law Studies, Lewis & Clark Law School

Advancements in biological sciences are chipping away at the criteria used by Western law and ethics to maintain a human-dominated species hierarchy, from sentience and cognition to problem-solving and complex language. This panel will explore key evidence demonstrating the complexity and sophistication of language-like features in whales and other species, discuss a strategy to advance case law, and develop legal and ethical guidelines necessary for the protection of these species.

10:15 – 10:30 a.m. PT

Break

10:30 – 11:45 a.m. PT

Legal Strategies for Protecting Wildlife

Concurrent Panel, Grand Ballroom I

Katie Kraska, Former Director of Federal Legislation, ASPCA

Eric Glitzenstein, Director of Litigation, Center for Biological Diversity

Speaker/Moderator: Rajesh Reddy, Assistant Professor of Law and Animal Law Program Director, Center for Animal Law Studies, Lewis & Clark Law School

This panel will discuss effective litigation, legislative, and regulatory strategies for safeguarding wildlife. Panelists will explore a wide range of approaches aimed at ensuring the survival and well-being of diverse animal populations.

10:30 – 11:45 a.m. PT

Striking Out on Your Own – The Challenges and Benefits of Solo Animal Law Practice

Concurrent Roundtable Discussion, Grand Ballroom II

Jennifer Friedman, Founder, Canada’s Animal Lawyer

Will Lowrey, Founder & Legal Counsel, Animal Partisan

Matthew Strugar, Lawyer, Law Office of Matthew Strugar

Speaker/Moderator: Vanessa Shakib, Co-Founder & Co-Director, Advancing Law for Animals

This panel will explore the diverse avenues available to attorneys seeking to make meaningful impacts for animals in a small practice setting. Panelists will share insights drawn from their diverse experiences and careers pursuing animal law across a range of settings.

11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. PT

Break

12:15 – 1:30 p.m. PT

Animal Protection in the United States Territories

Concurrent Panel, Grand Ballroom I

Emma Clifford, Executive Director, Animal Balance

Vivian González Méndez, Litigator and Professor, University of Puerto Rico School of Law

Anlis Mercado Rios, JD, University of Puerto Rico School of Law

Speaker/Moderator: Jessica Chapman, Staff Attorney, Animal Legal Defense Fund

This panel will discuss grassroots and legal advocacy work by activists and stakeholders in the U.S. territories. Experts will discuss grassroots advocacy from a nonprofit perspective and their supportive collaborations with communities from each of the U.S. territories, including addressing territories’ specific needs, vulnerable human communities, and unique regional dynamics regarding animal protection.

A special thanks to our Gold Sponsor, Stray Dog Institute, for sponsoring this Panel.

12:15 – 1:30 p.m. PT

Anticipating Animal Law’s Intersectional Future

Concurrent Panel, Grand Ballroom II

Ever Vimbai Chinoda, Founder & Executive Director, Speak Out for Animals

Jayasimha Nuggehalli, Co-Founder and Chief Program Officer, Global Food Partners

Paul Waldau, President, Religion and Animals Institute

Speaker/Moderator: Pamela Frasch, Founder, Center for Animal Law Studies, Lewis & Clark Law School

This panel will examine the intersection of animal studies, law, ethics, religion, and cultural considerations. Panelists will shed light on the religious and cultural aspects of animal law, offering thought-provoking reflections on the diverse belief systems and traditions that inform our relationship with non-human animals.