Biography
Lorna S. Muñoz Prudencio is an Animal Law LLM Candidate at Lewis & Clark Law School. Originally from La Paz, Bolivia, she received her JD from the Universidad Católica Boliviana in La Paz and holds advanced degrees in higher education and commerce and international relations. Lorna also received a BS in Cynology (canine studies) from Bergin University of Canine Studies.
Lorna has experience in animal studies work, human rights, as well as intellectual property matters. She worked as a lawyer for the biggest intellectual property firms in Bolivia. She has worked in both criminal prosecution and defense. She and her colleagues created “Know Your Rights” manuals for inmates in Bolivian jails and helped implement criminal procedural law in the country. Moreover, she provided counsel for the criminal procedural reform in Chile and placed 7th in the world competition and 1st for outstanding work in human rights in the Latin-American competition as a member of the group of Penitentiary Studies of the ‘Centro de Estudios sobre Justicia y Participación.’
Lorna’s ultimate passion is in animal studies work, specially canine studies. She has trained various dogs as potential service dogs, has studied many dog related subjects and has worked in obedience, scent detection, acting, cadaver detection, search and rescue, hunting, field trial, dance, home board, dog walking, courthouse work, autism, Schutzhund, police work, agility, herding and other dog sports and jobs. She has also participated in the “Dogs Helping Veterans” program where veterans are taught to train service dogs for their mutual benefit.
Lorna’s final LLM project focuses on creating a nonprofit – “Dogland Bolivia.” Dogland Bolivia’s mission is to improve the quality of life of dogs in Bolivia, ensuring their ‘Five Freedoms’ are met (freedom from hunger and thirst; freedom from discomfort; freedom from pain, injury or disease; freedom to express normal behavior; freedom from fear and distress). Dogland Bolivia’s vision is to ensure the wellbeing of dogs as valuable members of the Bolivian society, while ending overpopulation, abuse, neglect and unwarranted euthanasia.