Animal Law Section

Animal law has quickly emerged as a specialty legal field in law schools (Harvard, Duke, Georgetown, Hastings, Rutgers, and the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College, which publishes the Animal Law Journal). Animal-centered litigation appears more routinely on court dockets as pet owners sue to recover damages. Nationwide, legislatures debate the passage of bills addressing issues at the boundaries of human-animal relationships; last year Carolina Academic Press published a 780-page volume Animal Law, the first casebook of its kind.

Section News

• Newsletter now online: Winter 2007-08
• Annual report online: 2006-2007
• Now you can join the Animal Law Section online! 

Upcoming Events

Calendar of Events

About the Section

Animal law has useful applications for practitioners in many areas including landlord/tenant, criminal, wills and trusts, personal injury and tort claims, non-profit corporations, agricultural, local government and administrative law.

In addition to providing a forum for members to exchange ideas, study, and understand laws, regulations, and case law pertaining to all areas of Animal Law, initial goals of the Animal Law Section include:

• Establish a mid-year CLE and, eventually, a multi-state MCLE animal law institute
• Publish an Animal Law Reporter for the Pacific Northwest or nationally
• Create an animal law e-mail list
• Print and distribute quarterly email or paper newsletters to section members, soliciting articles from practitioners, academics, and others
• Produce animal law-related pamphlets for the public.
• Provide information to and facilitate cooperation with government agencies and non-governmental humane societies, rescue organizations, and animal sanctuaries.
• Organize brown-bag lunches and roundtables to address animal law matters in a short time frame.

Section Members:  To join the section e-mail list and receive information about section activities and other section-related matters, please send your e-mail address and Bar number to questions@wsba.org.

For more information, please contact the Section Chair:

Ms. Kimberlee A. Thornton
22525 93rd St. E.
Buckley, WA 98321-8455
Phone: (206) 660-3808
macneil_98@yahoo.com