The Animal Law and Advocacy Project (ALA) believes that the law is a powerful tool for fighting against the many injustices that animals face. We partner with dedicated attorneys from Animal Partisan and Legal Impact for Chickens, two organizations which are on the cutting edge of litigation focussed on the rights of animals. These organizations focus on litigation strategies related to factory farming practices, but you may also be asked to work on research projects involving the alleviation of suffering for animals in a wide variety of areas, such as companion animals or those in laboratories. Occasionally, this work may intersect with other social justice matters such as climate change, public health, food justice, and/or worker’s rights.
By promoting animal welfare in agricultural facilities and beyond, ALA works to forge a more just, sustainable world for all life.
Students in ALA will have the opportunity to engage in meaningful pro bono work through:
- Researching and proposing novel litigation or enforcement techniques
- Exploring federal and state public records laws
- Investigating potentially unlawful corporate conduct
- Drafting legal and/or policy memoranda
- Engaging in the legislative process through proposals, comments, and petitions
Participating students will have some flexibility in choosing the subject area and/or legal skills they would like to focus on.
Supervision: Students in Animal Law and Advocacy provide legal services under the supervision of attorneys at Animal Partisan and Legal Impact for Chickens.
Time commitment: 10-20 hours a semester. Students can generally work as much or as little as they would like within these timeframes, as long as they complete the tasks to which they commit, absent any extenuating circumstances.
For more information, please contact the student leaders at animallawsociety@berkeley.edu.