Once again I wish I could be in Portland, Oregon this summer for another of the offerings of the Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis and Clark Law School. Yet again, the Center will be presenting what looks to be an amazing summer intensive program in animal law. These courses are available for credit toward a J.D. for those law students who are interested in spending part of their summer immersed in animal law. They are also available for auditing by attorneys or others interested in the topic. The breadth and depth of the offerings this year are truly staggering.
Here’s the lineup: Rebecca Huss, a leading expert in companion animal law, will be teaching Transactional Approach to Animal Law; Steven Wise, of the Nonhuman Rights Project (who can be heard on a recent episode of our podcast), will be teaching Animal Rights Law and Jurisprudence; environmental law and animal law expert David Cassuto (who can also be heard on our podcast), will be teaching International Wildlife Law; Ramona Ilea will be teaching Animal Legal Philosophy and Development; Animal Legal Defense Fund founder Joyce Tischler will be teaching Farmed Animals: Law and Policy; and Mark Cushing will be teaching Emerging Law, Policy and Politics of Companion Animals.
This program truly shows the kind of progress animal law is making academically. The Center for Animal Law Studies — which we talked about in our recent podcast with Assistant Dean Pamela Frasch — has the largest animal law program in the country, and is an important part of that progress. This summer program is a wonderful opportunity for those who don’t go to school there to take part in it anyway.