Pamela Hart is the assistant dean and executive director for the Center for Animal Law Studies (CALS). She has an extensive background in animal law including helping to launch CALS as a collaboration between Lewis & Clark Law School and Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) in 2008. At the time, it was the first-of-its-kind animal law comprehensive program of studies. Additionally, she was the first person to teach an animal law course at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as well as the University of Chicago Law School. Prior to joining CALS, she directed the Animal Law Program at the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), supporting over 200 Student Animal Legal Defense Fund (SALDF) chapters, managing an extensive attorney volunteer network, and partnering with firms and attorneys. Additionally, almost twenty years ago, she co-founded Sheltering Animals of Abuse Victims (SAAV), a nonprofit animal protection organization dedicated to recognizing the role of animals in family violence. Today, she continues to serve as a founding board member.
Ms. Hart is a frequent writer and speaker on animal law related issues and has testified on a congressional panel regarding the federal Farm Animals Anti-Cruelty Act. Additionally, she is co-author of Animal Law – New Perspectives on Teaching Traditional Law, a legal casebook published by Carolina Academic Press. She has been featured for her work in multiple regional and national publications, including O Magazine, USA Today, The Chicago Tribune, Dallas Morning News, Baltimore Sun, Houston Chronicle, Raleigh News & Observer, Washington Lawyer and the National Jurist.