Tess Vickery is the first Animal Law LLM graduate from Australia, and a recipient of the International Society for Animal Rights Helen Jones Memorial Scholarship.
Tess graduated from Macquarie University with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honors) in 2012.
Prior to joining the Animal Law LLM program, she was a commercial and class action lawyer, working on high-profile cases such as the Volkswagen ‘dieselgate’ class action. During this time, Tess established an ‘animal law pilot program’, one of the first of its kind in Australia, which allowed lawyers at her firm to undertake pro-bono work on animal law cases.
After completing her LLM degree, Tess returned to Australia and secured a position as the policy advisor to a Member of Parliament for the Australian Animal Justice Party.
“As an advisor to an elected member of the Animal Justice Party, I am helping to bring about legislative change to improve the lives of animals.”
Tess has published on a range of animal law issues in academic journals, including animal legal philosophy and class actions for animals, and been invited to present at Australian and U.S. animal law conferences. She also volunteers with the Animal Law Institute to bring strategic litigation against puppy-farmers and backyard breeders.
Tess is a 2020 CALS Ambassador, and for the next 12 months, will be working with fellow LLM Alumni Tony Gerrans to research and present a seminar on Global Animal Law Developments.