Date Chartered: 5/31/2008

Purpose

The Section on Animal Law promotes the communication of ideas, interests, and activities among members and makes recommendations to the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) on matters of interest in teaching and improvement of the law relating to animals.

Leadership   Section Members

 




Excellence in Animal Law: Scholarship-Teaching-Service Award

The purpose of the award is to recognize outstanding contributions of law teachers (full-time and adjunct) in teaching, scholarship, advocacy, and/or service on behalf of animals. The criteria is intended to be very broad to recognize the many ways that law teachers, both full-time and adjunct, have an impact in seeking greater protections for animals through the law, including through scholarship, education of law students and the public at-large, pro bono litigation, legislative advocacy, leading or consulting on public initiatives, and other public or private projects. It can be local, regional, national, or international in scope.

Nominations and Eligibility:

(a) The Section may solicit nominations from the AALS communications platform announcement discussion list as well as other places that may reach animal law professors. Anyone who has taught at an AALS accredited law school as a full-time or adjunct professor may submit a nomination by completing and submitting a nomination form to the Section Chair no later than September 30 each year.

(b) Eligible nominees are individuals who have taught at an AALS accredited law school as a full-time or adjunct law professor. Current Section Executive Committee members and past recipients of the award are not eligible for nomination. Law schools and any other institutions or organizations are not eligible to be nominated or receive an award.

Selection Process:

(a) The Selection Committee shall be comprised of the entire Section’s Executive Committee except any member who has nominated another for the award and voluntarily recused himself/herself from the Selection Committee.

(b) Each member of the Selection Committee shall review all nominations. The Selection Committee shall meet via teleconference (or other means) and attempt to reach consensus on the award winner; a three-fourths vote of members in attendance at the meeting is required for selection of the winner. The Section may, but need not, give one award each year.

(c) Annually, before November 1, the Section shall notify AALS headquarters of the award winner and secure permission and approval from AALS to make the award.

Recognition of Award Winner: The Section shall recognize the award winner during its Section Program at the AALS annual meeting.

 

Recipients

Year Award Name Recipient Law School
2023 Excellence in Animal Law: Scholarship-Teaching-Service Award Sherry Colb Cornell Law School
2022 Excellence in Animal Law: Scholarship-Teaching-Service Award Mariann Sullivan New York University Law School
2020 Excellence in Animal Law: Scholarship-Teaching-Service Award Kathy Hessler Lewis and Clark Law School
2019 Animal Law Award Rebecca Huss Valparaiso University School of Law
2018 Animal Law Award Joan Schaffner George Washington University Law School
2017 Animal Law Award David S. Favre  Michigan State University College of Law
2016 Animal Law Award Pamela Frasch  Lewis and Clark Law School