UK Animal Law Conference 2026

Chris Green

Executive Director at Animal Legal Defense Fund

Conley Wouters

Assistant Professor of Law at University of Illinois Chicago School of Law

Conley Wouters is an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, where he teaches Animal Law, Contracts, and Lawyering Skills. His current research projects focus on laws relating to the treatment of private security canines, and litigation strategies for fighting animal cruelty in rodeo. He has published scholarship on animal law pedagogy, legal storytelling, and Buddhist approaches to legal writing. Conley has presented at various conferences and workshops related to animal law and animal law pedagogy, and he is a member of the Council on Animal Legal Education at GW Law’s Animal Legal Education Initiative. He is also an online LLM Candidate at the Lewis & Clark Center for Animal Law Studies. Before becoming a law professor, Conley practiced commercial litigation at a large law firm. Since 2023, he has worked in animal law in a pro bono capacity, and in 2025, he established Karuna Law, a solo practice dedicated to advancing animals’ legal interests. He is a recipient of the Animal Legal Defense Fund Compassionate Counsel Award.

Dana Nessel

Michigan Attorney General

Daniel Kolde

Attorney at Kolde Law

David Favre

Professor of Law at College of Law, Michigan State University

Dr. Michelle Gonzalez

Founder & Medical Director at Rascal Unit

Elizabeth MeLampy

Attorney, Writer & Advocate

Felix Aiwanger

Senior Research Fellow at Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law

Haley Stewart

Senior Public Policy Manager for Wildlife at Humane World for Animals

Hira Jaleel

Visiting Assistant Professor at Center for Animal Law Studies, Lewis & Clark Law School

Hon. Emma Hurst MLC

Member of Parliament at Animal Justice Party

Emma Hurst is a Member of Parliament, representing the Animal Justice Party in the Upper House of New South Wales Parliament, Australia since March 2019. Emma has fought tirelessly for the rights of animals for many years, fighting to outlaw puppy farming, improve animal protection legislation, and ending the use of battery cages. She and her team have changed many laws in NSW, ending the use of cetaceans for entertainment, increasing penalties for animals abuse, outlawing fetish crush videos, implementing mandatory animal bans for abusers, and outlawing convenience killing in pounds. Prior to being elected, Emma worked as a psychologist and ran campaigns at various animal protection charities. She also ran a rehoming service for research animals, rescuing hundreds of animals that had been used in experimentation.

Ilana Braverman

Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer at Greener by Default

Jaime Olin

Vice President and Legislative Chair at Texas Humane Legislation Network

Jan Dutkiewicz

Assistant Professor at Pratt Institute

Jan Dutkiewicz is an assistant professor at the Pratt Institute, whose work focuses on the politics of food. He is a contributing editor at The New Republic and a contributing writer at Vox. Jan is the co-author, with Gabriel Rosenberg, of the forthcoming book Feed the People! (Basic Books 2026).

Jessica Blome

Attorney at Greenfire Law, PC

John Watson

Adjunct Professor of Environmental Policy at University of Illinois at Chicago

Joyce Tischler

Professor of Practice at Center for Animal Law Studies, Lewis & Clark Law School

Kenny Torrella

Senior Reporter at Vox

Ledy VanKavage

Senior Legislative Attorney at Best Friends Animal Society

Lei'ohu Ryder

Kahu/Priestess at Kukuipuka Heiau

Lei’ohu Ryder is a Native of Hawai’i, a keeper of the ancient wisdom and protocols, a gifted teacher, singer, songwriter and a powerful advocate for the indigenous peoples of the planet as well as a powerful role model to our next generation. She weaves the wisdom of the Pacific in channeling the voices of the wind, rain, sea and sky. As kahu/priestess of Kukuipuka Heiau, an ancient temple of healing on the island of Maui, the wisdom of the breath of aloha and the spirit of ohana/family is shared through prayer, protocols, chants, music and activities that connect the heart with the universe.

Lora Dunn

Director of the Criminal Justice Program at Animal Legal Defense Fund

Madeline Krasno

Executive Director at Justify

Marina Bolotnikova

Deputy Editor at Vox’s Future Perfect

Marine Lercier

Executive Director at International Centre for Animal Rights and Ethics (ICARE)

Matthew Liebman

Associate Professor & Chair of the Justice for Animals Program at University of San Francisco School of Law

Megan Senatori

Executive Director at Center for Animal Law Studies, Lewis & Clark Law School

Pamela Byce

Associate Dean at Center for Animal Law Studies, Lewis & Clark Law School

Pamela Frasch

Founder at Center for Animal Law Studies, Lewis & Clark Law School

Patricia Smith

Founder & Compassion Fatigue Specialist at Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project

Pete Paxton

Director of Investigations at SEED

Rajesh Reddy

Assistant Professor of Law and Animal Law Program Director at Center for Animal Law Studies, Lewis & Clark Law School

Tara Cooley

Teaching Fellow at UConn School of Law

Tara Cooley serves as a teaching fellow at UConn School of Law, in Professor Jessica Rubin’s Animal Law Clinic. Tara trains and supervises law students who are court-appointed under Desmond’s Law—the nation’s first Courtroom Animal Advocate Program (CAAP) law—to advocate for justice in animal cruelty cases. Tara earned her J.D. at Golden Gate University (GGU), and her LL.M. in Animal Law at Lewis & Clark (L&C) Law School. At GGU, she served as the GGU Student Animal Legal Defense Fund Chair, and at L&C, she served as the L&C Animal Legal Defense Fund Student Chapter LLM Representative and as an Associate Editor for Animal Law Review. Tara researched CAAPs as her LLM thesis project while completing her LLM at L&C.

Taylor Waters

Farm Animal Advocacy Staff Attorney at Vermont Law & Graduate School

Tené Johnson

Associate at Latham & Watkins LLP

Tom Linney

Pro Bono Program Director at Animal Legal Defense Fund

Yvonne Gurira-Mushunje

Founder at Animal Advocates International