Young Lawyers Advocating for Animals
Why are you here?
Do you remember why you came to law school?
In this nation's next social movement, what role will you play?
Come meet five recent graduates who never forgot and are making the law that makes a change.
What: A Panel of Young Lawyers Advocating for Animals - Reception to follow in Golding Lounge
Who: Robin Bernstein, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Sarah Conant, Humane Society of the United States, Cheryl Leahy, Compassion Over Killing, Matthew Liebman, Animal Legal Defense Fund, Delcianna Winders, Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal. Bios for each of these speakers are available at the bottom of this page.
When: March 28, 6-9 pm
Where: New York University School of Law, Vanderbilt Hall, Room 210; Reception to follow in Golding Lounge, all at 40 Washington Square South, Manhattan
Learn how you can: ensure the prosecution of animal abusers, help stop cruel and unnecessary animal research, promote truth in advertising of animal products, protect animals' habitat, and much more. We all have a role to play.
Complimentary dinner, beer, and wine will be served,
then join us for a night out in the Village
Open to the public. Please bring ID to enter the building.
Speaker Bios
Robin Bernstein is a legal fellow at Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine ("PCRM"), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that advocates for better nutrition (specifically, a vegan diet) as a method of preventive medicine and for higher ethical standards in scientific and medical research. She has worked at PCRM since graduating from Rutgers University Law School in 2006. Having gone to law school specifically to work on behalf of the animals, she created the SALDF at Rutgers, and has participated in the various National Center for Animal Law competitions.
Sarah Conant is a litigation fellow in the Animal Protection Litigation Section of The Humane Society of the United States . Her docket focuses on farm animal protection, and includes administrative law cases, animal cruelty prosecutions, cases on access to public records, and other types of litigation. In addition, Ms. Conant works on developing new cases to protect farm animals. She also reviews and drafts local, state, and federal legislation on farm animal issues. Before joining The HSUS, Ms. Conant graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2006, where she founded and directed the Virginia Animal Law Society. She was awarded the Robert F. Kennedy award for her public service during law school. Ms. Conant holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bucknell University in both Animal Behavior and Philosophy. Ms. Conant resides in Virginia with her ferret, two cats, and two horses.
Cheryl Leahy is general counsel for Compassion Over Killing ( www.cok.net ). She received a J.D. from UCLA School of Law and a B.A. from the University of Chicago . COK focuses on abuse to animals raised for food, and Ms. Leahy's position is aimed at targeting large-scale abuse of farmed animals through litigation. These cases include criminal and civil causes of action challenging the treatment of animals on commercial facilities, as well as efforts to challenge misleading advertising as it relates to the way animals are treated.
Matthew Liebman joined ALDF in the fall of 2007 as the first recipient of the Mali Fellowship, a one-year legal fellowship designed to help ALDF develop the next generation of animal rights lawyers. Matthew works closely with Joyce Tischler and Bruce Wagman to develop and pursue civil animal protection litigation. After graduating with distinction from Stanford Law School (2006), Matthew clerked for the Honorable Warren J. Ferguson of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. While a law student at Stanford, Matthew co-founded that school's Student Animal Legal Defense Fund chapter and was an active member of Animal Rights on the Farm, where he worked on campaigns against factory farming and vivisection. Matthew's writing has appeared in the Journal of Animal Law, the Stanford Environmental Law Journal, and the Animal Legal & Historical Web Center .
Delcianna Winders, is an associate at the Washington , D.C. public interest law firm Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal, which specializes in federal and state litigation on a variety of issues, including animal protection, open government, and the environment. She is a graduate of New York University Law School . While in law school, Ms. Winders directed the NYU Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, organized an array of events focused on animal law, and facilitated the addition of an animal law course to the curriculum. Before beginning her fellowship, she worked as a law clerk to the Honorable Martha Craig Daughtrey on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. At Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal, Ms. Winders currently works on litigation for a range of animal protection organizations.