We invite you to enjoy appetizers and drinks while networking with fellow conference attendees.

The SALDF breakfast allows students from around the country who are interested in animal law to meet, share ideas and information, and build stronger SALDF programs over coffee and vegan baked goods.

Factory farming has negative impacts on animal protection, the environment, human health, farm workers, and farming communities. There are common themes that serve to unite attorneys working to protect animals, humans and the environment. This panel of legal experts will explore ways in which we can work together to confront climate change, mass abuse of animals, destruction of rainforests, damages to air quality and waterways, exploitation of farm and slaughterhouse workers and human health issues growing out of factory farming. The goal is to launch legal initiatives to support our common vision of a healthy and just planet for all inhabitants.

Criminal statutes prohibiting animal cruelty are only as effective as the prosecutors who choose to enforce them. Even the most enthusiastic prosecutor may be constrained by limited resources, political pressures, and evidentiary hurdles. Some states offer a solution: giving citizens the power of civil enforcement. Judges in these states can grant preliminary and permanent injunctions and determine the animal’s care and custody. In this panel we will discuss which states have this sort of legislation, looking closely at a recent application of North Carolina’s Section 19A, and consider how to create a nationwide trend of allowing civil injunction to stop animal cruelty.

Jury selection is often the weak part of a courtroom lawyer’s game — certainly one of the most anxiety-producing tasks as counsel gets closer to the trial date. Noted trial consultant Rich Matthews says that not only should jury selection not be feared, it must be embraced in order for lawyers to do their best. He will discuss the best tools and techniques for jury selection, promising that lawyers will feel more confident going into their next trial. Rich invites everyone to follow his Juryology blog as a resource for jury persuasion and techniques.

The field of animal law is developing at a blazing speed, and it can be hard to stay on top of the latest, and most important developments. But, not to worry. Animal Legal Defense Fund litigation and legislation experts are here to share with you the most important and exciting recent state and federal animal law developments and how they may impact your practice and the future direction of the field.

Test-tube hamburgers are making headlines, and supporters from Biz Stone to Bill Gates have backed high-tech alternatives to animal products as foods for a new, more sustainable generation. What is “faux meat,” and is anyone buying? This panel will also explore the opportunities and potential challenges that exist within the current legislative and regulatory environment as plant-based alternatives to the products of factory farms hit the mainstream.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund will present the 2013 Advancement in Animal Law Pro Bono Achievement Awards. Awards will also be presented for: Animal Law Leadership and Student Animal Legal Defense Fund Chapter of the Year.

Attorney Recipients:
– Virginia Coleman, Ropes & Gray LLP
– Anthony Eliseuson, Dentons US LLP
– Zachary Golden, Ropes & Gray LLP
– Erik Ideta, Troutman Sanders LLP
– Alison Langlais, Proskauer Rose LLP
– Jessica Rostoker, Latham & Watkins LLP
– David Zaft, Caldwell Leslie & Proctor, PC

Law Firm Award Recipients:
– Bingham McCutchen, LLP
– Fenwick & West, LLP
– Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP
– HendlerLaw Irell & Manella, LLP
– Kirkland & Ellis, LLP
– McKenna Long & Aldridge, LLP
– Moye White, LLP
– Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, LLP
– Steptoe & Johnson, LLP
– Winston & Strawn, LLP

Creative Employment Opportunities: What are the paths taken by law students and lawyers to secure rewarding careers in animal law? What can students do while still in law school to increase their chances of landing an animal law job? Viewed from various sectors, learn what works from this panel of legal experts.

Which countries are the most progressive and which are the least progressive when it comes to using animals in research? What can we, as legal professionals, do to help reduce and replace the use of animals in research and testing abroad while we live in the U.S.? This panel will explore animal testing in Europe, South America, and Asia, with a particular focus on the 2013 EU Cosmetic Directive, Horizon 2020, international legal limitations, harmonization challenges, and what the U.S.-based advocate can do to assist in changing the research paradigm that will help animals.

The past few years have marked a shift in human perception of wildlife, with many accepting that wildlife ought to be free to live independent of humans. Yet, this sentiment has not been reflected in our legal system. This panel takes an ethical/rights approach to wildlife, as opposed to the traditional hunting/conservation/management course. It is a discussion of wildlife within a “rights” paradigm, focusing on what rights wildlife ought to have and what laws should be created in our courts, legislature and/or federal agencies to allow for these rights to be recognized and enforced.

Critical race theory and postcolonial feminism have highlighted how our identities form at the intersections of a multitude of social and biological factors, including race, class, culture, sexuality, gender, ability, and species. An intersectional analysis of oppression insists on highlighting how these factors interact to create and contest existing distributions of social and political power, including exploitation of animals. How can an intersectional approach to animal law enrich our analysis of exploitation and foster more effective coalitional advocacy? Professor Deckha and Professor Kim will discuss theories of intersectionality and apply them to topical issues in animal law, including the movement for animal personhood, campaigns against live animal markets, and the Michael Vick dogfighting case.

Genetic engineering of animals has increased significantly in recent years, and the use of this technology brings with it ethical issues, some of which relate to animal welfare and some of which relates to whether non-human animals should be used at all. As a result of the extra challenges that genetically engineered animals bring, are governing bodies developing relevant regulations and policies that call for increased vigilance and monitoring of potential animal welfare impacts? If not, why not, and if so, how effective are those regulations and policies, and how can they be improved? What is the role of the animal law community in this process and are there available legal challenges?

There is an increased concern and awareness about the encounters law enforcement agents have with dogs that result in officers shooting and fatally wounding the dog. Dog owners have recently been successful in landmark cases and have been awarded substantial monetary damages based on federal civil rights violations. Police officers may also be facing criminal sanctions. Law enforcement authorities recognize that they need to provide training and strategic plans for their officers regarding dog encounters. They need to become educated about the alternatives to the use of lethal force. This involves both education and accountability. This panel will discuss the legal precedents and the training and directives evolving within the law enforcement community.

In the last few years, legislators in states across the country have introduced dozens of bills to criminalize undercover investigations at factory farms and slaughterhouses. These “ag gag” bills are the meat, egg, and dairy industries’ response to a plethora of exposés by animal protection organizations that have revealed gruesome animal cruelty and routine industry practices that cause immense animal suffering. In most instances, the animal protection movement has rallied to defeat these “ag gag” bills, but such laws are now on the books in six states. Earlier this year, the Animal Legal Defense Fund and People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals filed a federal lawsuit to have Utah’s ag gag law declared unconstitutional, the first lawsuit of its kind. This panel will feature two of the lead attorneys on the case, who will discuss the constitutionality of ag gag laws and provide updates on the case.