Hira Jaleel is a lawyer from Pakistan specializing in Animal Law. She received her B.A-LL.B (Hons.) from the Lahore University of Management Sciences and her LLM in Animal Law from Lewis & Clark Law School, where she was a Fulbright Scholar and recipient of the Animal Law LLM Leadership Award. Hira is currently working as a Senior Associate at Axis Law Chambers - a full service corporate and commercial law firm in Lahore, Pakistan. As part of her practice, she regularly advises clients on animal-related legal issues, including issuing advice on the legal rights of clients threatened with eviction and seizure of their companion animals by housing authorities, advising on the prosecution of animal abuse cases, and assisting animal welfare nonprofits regarding registration and regulatory compliance issues.
Hira also litigates on behalf of animals, and is currently litigating a case before the Honourable Lahore High Court against indiscriminate culling of street dogs by state authorities. She has also been appointed amicus curiae by the Lahore High Court in a case regarding wild animal welfare in which the petitioners are seeking to ban the possession of wild animals as exotic pets by individuals. As part of her work, Hira has drafted a model Animal Rights Act for the Province of Sindh, has reviewed draft rules under the Punjab Animal Health Act 2019, and is currently drafting an Animal Welfare Act for the Province of Punjab. Hira also routinely writes on animal welfare issues and her work has been published in various news publications in Pakistan, the US, and UK.