5/29/09 - Animal Law Conference in Dallas. Cross Post Okay

[Guest guest]

Animal Law Institute

2009 Animal Law InstituteFriday, May 29, 20098:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.The Belo Mansion2101 Ross AvenueDallas, TexasConference Fee includes a light breakfast, lunch, and conference notebook.Attorneys: Approved for 7.50 CLE credits including .50 Ethics. Veterinarians: Approved for 5 hours Continuing Education Credit.Animal Control Officers: Approved for 7.5 Hours of Continuing Education Credit.Judges and Animal Law Section Members: $125.00Non-Member Attorneys: $195.00Law Students: $50.00Non-Attorneys: $125.00Click here to register onlineThe Fairmont Hotel, which is three blocks from the Belo Mansion, is offering a discount to attendees. Visit http://www.fairmont.com/dal/AnimalLawInstituteConference to reserve a room.

Agenda

 

8:00 – 8:30 Breakfast/Annual Meeting

 

8:30 – 9:30 a.m.Animal Law Basics for Attorneys, Advocates, and Animal Welfare Organizations.

Don Feare and Randy Turner, two local veteran animal law attorneys, will provide the nuts and bolts of hot topics in animal law including: enforcement of pet adoption contracts; evidentiary issues in veterinary malpractice cases, limits on free speech in animal protests; and the state of affairs in breed specific legislation. Part of the session will include an open forum for questions from the audience on other relevant topics.

 

9:30 – 9:45 a.m. Break

 

9:45 – 10:45 a.m.

The News on Animal-Related Legislation at the End of the 2009 Texas Legislative Session. Skip Trimble will provide a recap of the numerous animal-related bills that legislators considered this session. He will talk about the bills that passed and provide insight on the possible legal, political, and policy implications of the new laws. He will also discuss the bills that didn’t pass, along with thoughts on why, and what the future prospects may be for similar legislation.

 

10:45 – 11:45 a.m.

Bush, Obama, and Federal Animal Law: Hope and Change for Animals?

Matthew Liebman will provide an overview of the current state of federal animal and policy in the wake of George W. Bush’s presidency. He will discuss the role of the executive branch in enforcement and how that role was implemented under Bush. Liebman will provide a look at what we may see from Obama based on his public statements, voting record, cabinet appointments, and possible future judicial appointments.

 

11:45 – 12:15 Lunch

 

12:15 – 1:15 p.m.

The Global View – Animal Law on the Planetary Scale.

Bruce Wagman will address two areas of international animal law. First, he will discuss some international agreements that impact animal welfare and protection issues across borders in multiple countries. The presentation will cover both laws directly involving animals and broader trade agreements that impact the transport and treatment of animals. Second, he will focus on some laws in other countries that demonstrate a shift in animal protection considerations by foreign governments.

1:15 – 2:15 p.m.

Animal Experimentation: Priorities in the Nature of Things.

Animal experimentation is now largely unregulated except for the outer limits set by criminal law and contract liability. Professor Art LaFrance proposes a reordering of animal experimentation, with funding provided only if there is no alternative to the use of animals, the impact on subjects is minimized, a clear benefit can be anticipated, and the procedures undertaken are pursuant to scientific protocols and oversight. He recommends implementation through an administrative board with a role accorded to stakeholders, including animal welfare groups.

 

2:15 – 2:30 p.m. Break

 

2:30 – 3:30 p.m.

Factory Farming: Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Industrialization

While society’s changing attitudes have resulted in new legal protections for companion animals, the plight of farm animals in the United States remains bleak. Gene Baur will provide an overview of how and why the family farm has evolved into to the mass-producing factory farm and the changes that need to occur in the way society views and treats farm animals. He will discuss current legal protections in place, what more is needed, and how the passage of California’s Proposition 2 and other recent state laws banning cruel treatment of farm animals affects the farming industry.

 

3:30 – 4:30 p.m.

The Houston Initiative to combat Dog Fighting and Animal Cruelty.

The City of Houston has launched a major initiative to pursue and prosecute dog fighters and animal abusers. Belinda Smith, Chief Prosecutor in the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, Animal Cruelty Section talks about the evolution of Houston’s commitment to stop dog fighting and animal cruelty. She will discuss “Operation Dead Game,†a joint investigation between the USDA, Office of Inspector General; DPS, Criminal Intelligence Service; and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. This multi- agency effort resulted in the largest undercover dog fighting bust in the country and Ms. Smith will discuss the planning, implementation, and prosecution that led to its success.

 

4:30 – 5:00 p.m.

Ethics and Animals: Pitfalls of the Passionate

Our attitudes about animals are loaded with ethics. For animal law attorneys, it requires separating the passion for animal welfare from the legal ethics of representing clients. Yolanda Eisenstein will address legal ethics within the realm of animal law, particularly when the outcome of a case will determine an animal’s wellbeing. She will also discuss the ethical issues involved when lawyers and nonprofits lobby Congress for the passage of animal-specific laws.

Speaker Bios

 

 

Gene Baur grew up in Hollywood, California and worked in television, film and commercials. Today, he campaigns to raise awareness about the negative consequences of industrialized factory farming. He is the co-founder and president of Farm Sanctuary, America's leading farm animal protection organization. He has testified in court and before local, state and federal legislative bodies, and has initiated groundbreaking legal enforcement and legislative action to raise awareness and prevent factory farming abuses. He played a significant role in passing the first U.S. laws to prohibit cruel

farming systems – including the Florida ban on gestation crates, the Arizona ban on veal and gestation crates, and the Califoria and Chicago bans on foie gras.

Yolanda Eisenstein is an attorney with an animal law practice in Dallas, Texas, the Eisenstein Law Office. She is Chair of the State Bar of Texas Animal Law Section and Co-Chair of the International Subcommittee of the ABA TIPS Animal Law Committee. She is counsel to and board member of the Texas Humane Legislation Network, a state-wide educational and advocacy group that lobbies Congress for the passage of pro animal legislation. She speaks regularly on animal issues and donates her time on pro bono animal cases. Eisenstein graduated with

honors from SMU Dedman School of Law and is licensed to practice in Texas and New Mexico.

 

Don Feare practices civil litigation and criminal defense in Arlington, Texas. He regularly handles a large volume of animal law cases, which are diverse in nature and include: an action against a gun club to prevent the sport shooting of pigeons; an in-depth review of the fatal shooting of Jabari, the lowland gorilla at the Dallas Zoo; and a variety of seizure and dog bite related cases. Feare is a photographer and field contributor to Nature Photographer magazine, and writes about animal law and waterfowl behavior and diseases. He lives on the sanctuary he established in the late 1980’s known as the Wildflight Rescue

Foundation. Feare is also an Adjunct Professor at Texas Wesleyan School of Law teaching Animal Law.

 

Arthur B. LaFrance is a professor of law at Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland Oregon. He teaches in the health law and bioethics areas and has published a case book on bioethics. He has taught bioethics at a number of law schools, including schools in Australia, New Zealand, and Scotland; and most recently in Houston and Laramie, Wyoming. Professor LaFrance has engaged in pro bono public litigation opposing big tobacco, hospital takeovers, and health insurance nonprofit conversions.

While serving as a legal aid attorney, he twice argued before the United States Supreme Court. He has published two articles discussing animal experimentation.

 

 

Matthew Liebman is a staff attorney at the Animal Legal Defense Fund, a national animal protection organization that uses the legal system to advance the interests of animals. Matthew graduated with distinction from Stanford Law School and with highest honors from the University of Texas. Prior to joining ALDF, Matthew clerked for the Honorable Warren J. Ferguson of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Matthew's writing has appeared in the Journal of Animal Law, the Stanford Environmental Law Journal, and the Animal Legal & Historical Web Center.

 

Belinda Smith is the Chief prosecutor in the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, Animal Cruelty Section. During her twelve years there, Smith has been assigned to several divisions where she has prosecuted a variety of crimes. In 2006, Smith became the lead animal cruelty prosecutor for the HCDAO. In that position, she has been instrumental in helping to reform state and county legislation related to animal cruelty and animal fighting laws as well as training law enforcement officers and animal control officers to recognize and investigate animal crimes.

 

Robert “Skip†Trimble is principal in the real estate investment firm of Catlyn Capital Corporation. He has a law degree from Southern Methodist University. Skip is involved in the following animal-related organizations and causes: the Animal Legal Defense Fund, the Texas Humane Legislation Network, the Dallas Animal Shelter Commission, and the Metroplex Animal Coalition. Trimble was also instrumental in the formation of the Animal Law Section of the State Bar of Texas. He also does considerable pro bono legal work for animal groups, including formation of non-profit corporations and obtaining their tax exempt

status.

 

Randy Turner has been practicing law for almost 30 years and is a partner in Turner and McKenzie in Fort Worth, Texas. He is board certified in personal injury law and civil trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization; and a certified civil trial specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Turner regularly represents rescue groups, humane societies, and animal rights activists in civil and criminal cases and is a frequent lecturer on animal law. He has worked as a volunteer in orangutan conservation in Borneo, elephant conservation in Kenya, and black rhino conservation in

Zimbabwe.

 

Bruce Wagman is a partner in the San Francisco office of Schiff Hardin, with an almost exclusive focus on a wide range of animal law cases, as well as education and consultation in the field. He also serves as the Chief Outside Litigation Counsel for the Animal Legal Defense Fund, a national legal animal protection organization for which he devises a national litigation program. Wagman’s clients include numerous animal protection organizations as well as private individuals. His cases cover national issues affecting animals used in commercial agriculture, in entertainment and biomedical research, animals subjected to cruelty at the local level, as well as cases involving injuries to, and caused by, animals. He is a coeditor of Animal Law, the first casebook for animal law courses; he is also working on a book (with Matthew Liebman) on animal law around the world.