This legal webinar is presented by the DePaul University College of Law Center for Animal Law. Speakers will discuss current issues in farmed animal law, the environment, and social justice. Presentation topics may include: slaughterhouse issues, factory farming, changes in farmed animal or environmental law, environmental degradation, and analysis of other current farmed animal issues that intersect with the environment and social justice.

This program will be approved for up to 3 hours of CLE credit. Registration is required. An event link will be emailed to you the day before the program.

Hosted by:

• DePaul University College of Law Center for Animal Law
• DePaul Animal Legal Defense Fund Student Chapter

Speakers:

Vandhana Balasubramanian - General Counsel, Global Food Partners - Cage-Free Impact Incentives: A Novel Approach to Farmed Animal Activism

Global Food Partners’ General Counsel Vandhana Bala is an attorney with twenty years’ experience spanning a wide range of both criminal and civil matters. For the past decade, Vandhana has advised organizations on advocacy for a sustainable and ethical food supply. Vandhana began her legal career at Sidley, a global law firm, and later started her own practice where she handled a broad spectrum of commercial matters, companion animal issues, and criminal cases. As a social justice advocate, Vandhana served as General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Mercy for Animals for nearly a decade, where she achieved several precedent-setting legal victories in the enforcement of criminal laws to protect farmed animals. She is also a co-founder and board member of the Good Food Institute. Vandhana has lectured extensively at law schools and bar associations across the country and has been interviewed by dozens of media outlets on her work. Vandhana currently lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA, and enjoys hiking, cooking, and playing guitar.

Christine Ball-Blakely - Staff Attorney, Animal Legal Defense Fund - Environmental Law: Possibilities for Protecting Water Resources from Industrial Animal Agriculture

As a staff attorney at the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Christine works to end the exploitation and systemic abuse of farmed animals. She employs environmental laws to hold the factory farming industry—and the government agencies responsible for regulating it—accountable. She believes that, together, we can build a just legal system that prioritizes the protection of animals, the environment, and marginalized communities over private profit. Before joining the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Christine was a litigator for the federal government. She graduated with high honors from the University of Tennessee College of Law, where she served as president of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, acquisitions editor for the Tennessee Law Review, and student attorney in the Appellate Litigation Clinic. Christine received the Tennessee Law Review Editor’s Award and the Legal Clinic Distinguished Student Award, and she is the author of CAFOs: Plaguing North Carolina Communities of Color. Before law school, Christine served in AmeriCorps and worked in the nonprofit sector.

Daina Bray - General Counsel, Mercy for Animals - Updates on the Fight Against the Deregulation of Slaughterhouses

Daina Bray is General Counsel of Mercy for Animals, a leading global farmed animal protection non-profit, and previously served as General Counsel of the International Fund for Animal Welfare. With more than fifteen years in legal practice, including nine years in private practice in the areas of international arbitration and litigation, Daina brings a breadth of nonprofit, international, and animal law experience. Daina is a current co-chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) International Animal Law Committee, current chair of the Tennessee Bar Association Animal Law Section, and a past chair of the ABA Animal Law Committee. She received her law degree from Stanford Law School, with pro bono distinction, and her bachelors in international studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Morehead scholar. Following college, Daina spent a year as a Fulbright scholar in Kingston, Jamaica, working in environmental education. Daina is the 2020 recipient of the ABA TIPS Excellence in Animal Law award.

Kate Brindle - Public Policy Specialist, Farm Animal Protection, Humane Society of the United States - Waging Battles for a Cage-Free Future: How HSUS’ Ground-Breaking Legislative Campaigns are Creating Lasting Change for Farm Animals

Kate Brindle is a Public Policy Specialist for Farm Animal Protection at the Humane Society of the United States, where she works on legislative campaigns across the country. Kate and her teammates lead campaigns to prohibit the cage confinement of chickens, pigs and calves. She also serves as a board member of Attorneys for Animals and is the Chair Elect of the Animal Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan. Kate is a graduate of Michigan State University College of Law, where she served as an Associate Editor of the Journal for Animal and Natural Resource Law and President of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund.

Laura Fox - Staff Attorney, The Humane Society of the United States - Strategic Litigation for Protecting Farmed Animals and Human Health

Laura Fox joined HSUS's Animal Protection Law department in 2015 as an attorney focusing on issues related to puppy mills and now is the Staff Attorney for Farm Animal Protection. Laura works to protect farm animals from the industrialized practices of factory farms, including by reducing extreme confinement practices and challenging their environmental impacts. A large aspect of Laura's work is spent filing complaints with federal and state agencies and litigating issues arising under the National Environmental Policy Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, the Freedom of Information Act, and other federal statutes, as well as litigating consumer protection cases at the state level. Laura is an Adjunct Professor of Animal Law at George Mason's law school and has also taught courses in philosophy and ethics. Laura graduated from Vermont Law School with a J.D. and Master of Environmental Law and Policy and holds a master's in philosophy from George Mason University.

Robert Grillo - Founder, Free From Harm and Slaughter Free Cities, Slaughter Free Chicago - Slaughter Free Cities: An Overview

Robert Grillo is an activist, author and speaker for all species. He is also the founder and director of Free from Harm, a non profit dedicated to helping end animal exploitation, and Slaughter Free Cities. As a communications professional for over 25 years, Grillo once worked on large food industry accounts where he acquired a behind-the-scenes perspective on food branding and marketing. His book, Farm to Fable: The Fictions of Our Animal-Consuming Culture, explores the powerful narratives driving our culture of mass animal consumption. Other published works include contributions to Caged: Top Activists Share Their Wisdom on Effective Animal Advocacy and Circles of Compassion: Connecting Issues of Justice. In addition Grillo writes articles for Free from Harm and curates work from other leading authors.