Conley Wouters is an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, where he teaches Lawyering Skills, Contracts, and Animal Law. Conley received his JD from Cornell Law School in 2019. Before becoming a law professor, he practiced complex commercial litigation in Los Angeles and Chicago. He has an MA and PhD in English from Brandeis University, and his published scholarship includes articles on American literature and legal writing pedagogy. His current research explores the benefits of incorporating animal law into first-year legal writing curricula.
In 2021, Conley began reading and thinking about the degree to which nonhuman animals are oppressed, abused, and exploited by humans. He sought out opportunities to end this systemic mistreatment, and has been lucky to work with, and learn from, lawyers, academics, law students, and activists in the animal protection movement. He is a member of the ABA-TIPS Animal Law Committee, the Illinois State Bar Animal Law Section, and the Council on Animal Legal Education at the George Washington University Law School.
Conley maintains an animal law pro bono practice and represents individuals and animal protection organizations in disputes with state and local governments. In 2023, he was a recipient of the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Compassionate Counsel Award.
Outside of work, Conley spends most of his time hanging out with his wife, their very loud one-year-old son, and their even louder eight-year-old dog, Stevie. He is pursuing the Animal Law LLM to become a better lawyer, teacher, and animal advocate.