Lewis & Clark Animal Legal Defense Fund Student Chapter Celebrates a Banner Year

As the nation’s first student animal law chapter dating back to 1993, the Lewis & Clark Animal Legal Defense Fund Student Chapter (LC ALDF) has a longstanding commitment to education on the issues and laws affecting animals. Our chapter works to influence positive change and enhance the welfare and legal status of all nonhuman animals. This academic year, LC ALDF’s nine-person strong Board hosted 24 total events featuring 16 expert speakers, covering a broad range of topics—such as how environmental and labor law interact with the regulation of industrial animal agriculture (including industrial aquaculture), constitutional challenges to state “ag-gag” laws, and the autonomy and protection of wild animals, to name just a few. The Board also organized 2 film screenings, 4 volunteer days, and a variety of public service opportunities.

Knowing how pivotal the first few weeks of law school are for incoming students to establish the sense of community necessary to successfully navigate the demanding weeks and months ahead, LC ALDF hosted an inaugural Animal Law Welcome Week at the start of this academic year. Its purpose was to spark early interest in and excitement for animal law, particularly among 1Ls limited to doctrinal coursework and animal law MSL and LLM students new to campus.

The Inaugural Animal Law Welcome Week

Animal Law Welcome Week 2025 kicked off with a Joint Animal Law Welcome event, co-hosted with Animal Law Review and the Center for Animal Law Studies, which introduced students to each group’s mission and opportunities to get involved. On Tuesday, Tarah Heinzen, Legal Director of Food & Water Watch, and Allison LaPlante, former Co-Director of Earthrise Law Center, discussed the regulatory framework currently (and inadequately) governing concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) effluent and Food & Water Watch’s innovative Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals case challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s abdication of its duty to regulate this significant source of water pollution. The following day, students learned about ALDF v. Herbert, a landmark First Amendment case that struck down Utah’s “ag-gag” law, directly from its plaintiff, Amy Meyer, and her lawyer, Matthew Strugar.

To foster cross-pollination between Lewis & Clark’s robust animal law and environmental law communities, LC ALDF also coordinated a Thursday evening social in collaboration with four other campus organizations. And at the close of Animal Law Welcome Week 2025, twenty volunteers—composed of Lewis & Clark animal law students, alumni, and professors—spent their Saturday volunteering at Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary. After mucking one of the pig barns and laying down fresh hay bedding, volunteers were rewarded with quality time spent rubbing pig bellies and socializing with six recently rescued piglets.

Public Service Projects

Throughout the year, the LC ALDF Board prioritized public service projects that enabled students to explore their passions outside of law school, while simultaneously giving back to the community and supporting the efforts of animal advocates. Often insular and steeped in the theoretical, law school can create distance from the reasons that brought students there in the first place. Through public service opportunities, LC ALDF aimed to offer students a chance to pause, reconnect with the motivations that attracted them to Lewis & Clark, and spark, rekindle, or deepen their passion for animal law.

For example, LC ALDF organized weekend work parties with Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary and Portland Animal Welfare Team (PAW Team). PAW Team provides free veterinary care, supplies, and support to the pets of people experiencing houselessness or extreme poverty in Portland, helping to keep companion animals healthy and with their guardians. LC ALDF also engaged 1L and 2L students on a pro bono research project in support of Bird Alliance of Oregon’s comment on the Draft Northwest Forest Plan Amendment Environmental Impact Statement—to learn more, check out this CALS blog written by Pro Bono Chair, Camille Bond!

In addition, LC ALDF members proudly supported SB 80 to protect groundwater from CAFO pollution. LC ALDF hosted a testimony-writing event on campus, and members attended meetings with legislators in Salem and provided oral testimony at the Senate Committee Environment and Natural Resources hearing. This work stemmed from LC ALDF’s historical support of SB 85, which passed in 2023 and marked the first major reform of CAFO regulation in Oregon in decades. Although SB 80 did not pass this year, the groundswell of support for it demonstrated the urgency of the issue, and LC ALDF is proud to have helped raise awareness of the environmental and public health crisis exacerbated by CAFOs.

The Annual Animal Law Week

A long-standing annual tradition, LC ALDF hosts Animal Law Week each spring, which features engaging speakers, a free vegan lunch for the entire campus, and meaningful networking opportunities that bring together students, faculty, and professionals in the animal advocacy community. This year’s roster of events showcased the diversity of animal law, and included:

• LC ALDF and the Lewis & Clark’s National Lawyers Guild welcoming Magaly Licolli, Executive Director of Venceremos, to discuss the intersection of food, labor, and animal law in challenging industrial animal agriculture and the ongoing efforts of poultry workers to organize for improved work protections.
• Saylor Soinksi, CALS Teaching Fellow, leading a riveting conversation on the ethical conundrum posed by the “predation problem,” which compelled students to consider whether we have a duty to prevent wild animal suffering caused by other animals.
• LC ALDF hosting its annual MeatOut, offering attendees a chance to sample dishes generously donated by some of Portland’s best plant-based restaurants. The event celebrated the city’s vibrant vegan food scene while encouraging the campus community to reflect on how their food choices affect animals, the environment, and public health.
• An evening art reception on Thursday that brought together 100 students, academics, attorneys, artists, advocates, and other community members to engage with impactful work by local visual artists and photojournalists. The event showcased the role of art in shifting public perceptions of animals and featured a powerful keynote by award-winning photographer and We Animals founder Jo-Anne McArthur. A silent art auction raised $645 for Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary.

By organizing a wide range of public-facing events, LC ALDF helped build a strong sense of community both on campus and within Portland’s broader animal justice movement. Our focus on environmental, labor, and animal law issues attracted participants beyond the Animal Law Program and fostered interdisciplinary engagement with events frequently drawing more than fifty students. Our mentorship program also strengthened our animal law community by pairing newer students with experienced peers, creating a supportive network grounded in shared interests and values.

This year’s work would not have been possible without the incredible support of our community. We’re deeply grateful to the 2024-2025 Board, Animal Legal Defense Fund, Center for Animal Law Studies, Law Scholars for Change Program, the broader law school community, local artists and businesses, and all our collaborators who helped bring our events and initiatives to life. Their partnership and enthusiasm allowed us to grow, educate, and advocate more effectively than ever.

As the year wraps up, we’re thrilled to pass the torch to our former 1L Delegates and incoming Co-Directors, Brooke Helstrom and Frannie von Friedeberg, confident that they’ll continue to strengthen and expand LC ALDF’s impact during the 2025-2026 school year. We are proud of all that LC ALDF accomplished this past academic year, and are confident that we’re leaving it in very good hands.

This story was co-written by Mei Brunson and Suzannah Smith.

Mei Brunson recently graduated from Lewis & Clark Law School with her JD and Animal Law Certificate. During law school, Mei interned with Animal Partisan, the Center for Animal Law Studies, Earthjustice, Farm Sanctuary, Food & Water Watch, and the Humane Society of the United States. During law school, Mei interned with Animal Partisan, the Center for Animal Law Studies, Earthjustice, Farm Sanctuary, Food & Water Watch, and Humane World for Animals. She also served as submissions editor for Animal Law Review and co-directed the Lewis & Clark Animal Legal Defense Fund Student Chapter. In August 2025, Mei will begin a two-year clerkship for the Honorable Judge Kristina Hellman on the Oregon Court of Appeals. In her future career as a practicing attorney, she aims to leverage litigation to advance animal, food, and environmental justice. 

Suzannah Smith is a recent JD graduate of Lewis & Clark Law School, where she earned certificates in Animal Law and Environmental and Natural Resources Law. Suzannah is deeply committed to using litigation to hold industrial agriculture accountable for the harm it causes to humans, nonhuman animals, and the environment. She served as Editor in Chief of Animal Law and Co-Director of the Lewis & Clark Animal Legal Defense Fund chapter. Suzannah has interned with Animal Defense Partnership, Earthrise Law Center, Center for Animal Law Studies, Animal Legal Defense Fund, and Earthjustice. She will begin a two-year litigation fellowship at the Center for Food Safety in the fall.

The Center for Animal Law Studies (CALS) was founded in 2008 with a mission to educate the next generation of animal law advocates and advance animal protection through the law. With vision and bold risk-taking, CALS has since developed into a world-renowned animal law epicenter. In addition to JD study, CALS offers an advanced degree program in-person and online. CALS’ Alumni-in-Action from more than 30 countries are making a difference for animals around the world. CALS is a self-funded Center within the law school operating under the Lewis & Clark College 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, and is able to provide these educational opportunities through donations and grants.