Free Animal Law Symposium at Seattle U

Seattle University and SU's Student Animal Legal Defense Fund are hosting a free symposium on animal law.

Animal Law Symposium
November 28, 2007
4:30 pm – 6:00 pm
This event is FREE and open to the general public

Speakers will include:

Amanda Lee, JD

On December 7, 2005, one of the largest arrests of environmental activists in American history occurred. The FBI arrested six activists for allegedly taking part in a wide variety of violent crimes, including arson and domestic terrorism. One of the six arrested activists, Daniel McGowan, faced mandatory life in prison on charges related to two arsons in Oregon. As a result of Ms. Lee’s pre-trial motions and negotiations, the charges in the prosecution of McGowan were substantially reduced to a seven year sentence.

Ms. Lee will discuss her experiences representing defendants in “animal and eco-terrorism” cases -the types of people the defendants are, the unique challenges she faces as a lawyer with regards to strategy and picking jurors, the government's illegal wiretapping of defendants, philosophical issues, and more.

Adam Karp, JD MS

Across the nation, courts are evaluating the issue of compensatory damages awarded to those who lose their pets. Speaking on the topic of veterinary medical malpractice, Mr. Karp will explore legal recourse for pet owners, including a heightened standard of care afforded by veterinarians to their animal patients. Karp will address important questions, including:

”Can I recover for the pain and suffering of an animal?”
“What is the economic value of an animal?”
“What is the noneconomic value of an animal?”

Mr. Karp will also speak on the topic of dog-fighting. Karp is currently representing a case dealing with dog-fighting as it pertains to bankruptcy. Specifically, the case examines whether “willful and malicious injury to property/person” is a basis to avoid discharge in Chapter 7.

Elizabeth Lorraine ("Lorrie") Elliot, JD, LLM, MAT

Animal abuse takes many forms including forcing a victim of domestic violence to commit an act of violence upon their own beloved companion animal. Additionally, some victims of domestic violence remain in an abusive situation for fear of what will happen to their companion animals. Ms. Elliot will explore the connection that exists between domestic violence and animal abuse.


The Animal Law Symposium will take place at Seattle University, on the second floor gallery of Sullivan Hall. This event is FREE and open to the general public.
(Please see http://www.seattleu.edu/home/campus_community/visit_campus/ for directions to Seattle University and Sullivan Hall).

UW note: As it happens, all three speakers are graduates of the University of Washington School of Law. Adam Karp has taught Animal Law here and Amanda Lee has been a Trial Ad instructor.

Photo credit: Cheryl Nyberg