—The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) recently named the Animal Law Society at Vermont Law School a 2017 Student Animal Legal Defense Fund Chapter of the Year. ALDF selected the VLS student group, which tied for the award with a chapter at the University of Otago in New Zealand, from among 195 chapters in the United States and 24 chapters around the world.
VLS students accepted their award during the annual Animal Legal Defense Fund Student Convention and Animal Law Conference Oct. 13 in Portland, Ore.
“We are honored to receive this prestigious award and continue the growth of animal law at Vermont Law School,” said Will Lowrey JD’18, co-chair of the VLS Animal Law Society during the award year, 2016-2017. “Thank you to the Animal Legal Defense Fund and to the dedicated members and faculty advisors of our student chapter at Vermont Law School. Several of our members attended the Animal Law Conference in Portland, where we learned from legal experts on a range of topics, including criminal animal abuse prosecution, farm animal protection, the emergence of aquatic animal law, and animal sanctuary success stories. We are inspired and prepared to have another great year advocating on behalf of animals.”
The Animal Law Society at Vermont Law School is committed to providing a forum for education, advocacy, and scholarship aimed at protecting the lives and advancing the interests of animals through the legal system, and raising the profile of the field of animal law. For more information, follow the society on Facebook, or email 2017-2018 Co-Chairs Ana Berninger JD’18 at anaberninger@vermontlaw.edu and Liz Bower JD’18 at elizabethbower@vermontlaw.edu.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund files lawsuits to protect animals from harm, provides legal assistance and training to prosecutors to ensure that animal abusers are punished, supports tough animal protection legislation and fights legislation harmful to animals, and provides resources and opportunities to law students and professionals to advance the emerging field of animal law. For more information about ALDF, visit aldf.org.
###
Vermont Law School, a private, independent institution, is home to the nation’s largest and deepest environmental law program. VLS offers a Juris Doctor curriculum that emphasizes public service; three Master’s Degrees—Master of Environmental Law and Policy, Master of Energy Regulation and Law, and Master of Food and Agriculture Law and Policy; and four post-JD degrees —LLM in American Legal Studies (for foreign-trained lawyers), LLM in Energy Law, LLM in Environmental Law, and LLM in Food and Agriculture Law. The school features innovative experiential programs and is home to the Environmental Law Center, South Royalton Legal Clinic, Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, Energy Clinic, Food and Agriculture Clinic, and Center for Applied Human Rights. For more information, visit vermontlaw.edu, find us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.