NEW YORK - The Humane Society of the United States today honors four of the nation's top law firms for outstanding pro bono litigation on behalf of animals in 2005. The ceremony - to be held at New York University's Torch Club - marks a growing commitment by the nation's major law firms to animal protection litigation as a pro bono practice area.
"The laws we enact to protect animals from cruelty and abuse mean nothing unless we have talented and dedicated attorneys making sure they are enforced in the courts," said Wayne Pacelle, HSUS president and CEO. "The Humane Society of the United States is fortunate to have some the nation's best legal minds at work on this critical task, and we are pleased to recognize some of them today."
The firms to be recognized today are:
- Faegre & Benson for winning two court orders to protect wolves in 2005. In early 2005, attorneys with Faegre & Benson - acting on behalf of The HSUS and a coalition of organizations -- won a precedent-setting ruling invalidating the Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to down-list wolves from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Just a few months later, they obtained a second court order halting the killing of endangered wolves in Wisconsin and Michigan. Faegre & Benson has also recently undertaken to represent HSUS in a challenge to a proposal to remove the Grizzly bear from the endangered species list, which would subject Grizzlies to trophy hunting for the first time in decades.
- Holland & Knight for defeating a federal court challenge to a new federal law barring interstate transport of birds to be used in cockfighting - a law that HSUS helped enact in 2002. After the United Gamefowl Breeders Association challenged the law, attorneys with Holland & Knight intervened on HSUS's behalf and ultimately obtained dismissal of all of the UGBA's claims.
- Latham & Watkins for litigating a ground-breaking case to halt invasive and sometimes lethal research on endangered and threatened Stellar sea lions. The case - which challenges the National Marine Fisheries Service's decision to authorize the disturbance of almost a half-million endangered animals -- is awaiting final decision by the federal court in Washington, D.C.
- Phelps Dunbar for defeating a challenge to the federal law barring interstate transport of birds to be used in cockfighting, as well as a state court challenge to a local Louisiana Parish's law banning cockfighting. Attorneys with Phelps Dunbar have been invaluable in our efforts concerning cockfighting in Louisiana, serving as counsel of record with Holland & Knight lawyers in the federal cockfighting case, and counsel of record with HSUS Animal Protection Litigation section lawyers in the Caddo Parish cockfighting victory before the Louisiana Supreme Court. Phelps Dunbar also recently joined with HSUS lawyers to submit briefing to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals seeking to enforce a Texas law banning the sale of horse meat - which would shut down two of the nation's three remaining horse slaughter plants.
"These pro bono relationships are the backbone of our animal protection litigation program at the HSUS," said Jonathan Lovvorn, vice president of animal protection litigation for The HSUS. "With more than forty active legal projects, and a staff of eight lawyers in house, we could not function without the resources and expertise provided by the nation's top law firms."
The HSUS launched an in-house litigation department in 2005 to conduct precedent-setting legal campaigns on behalf of animals in state and federal courts around the country. Working with the private bar, laws schools, and a team of in-house litigators, The HSUS's Animal Protection Litigation Section now oversees the largest animal protection litigation program in the country.
"Animal protection litigation is a dynamic and growing field that attracts law students as well as seasoned litigators," said Lovvorn. "We need more and more private attorneys, law students, and other advocates to join our team if we are going to reach our goal of ensuring that all animals receive the legal protection they deserve in the courts."
For more information on The HSUS' efforts to protect animals in the courts, go to www.hsus.org.
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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization with more than 9.5 million members and constituents. The HSUS is a mainstream voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals, disaster preparedness and response, wildlife and habitat protection, marine mammals, animals in research, equine protection, and farm animal welfare. The HSUS protects all animals through education, investigation, litigation, legislation, advocacy and field work. The nonprofit organization is based in Washington and has field representatives and offices across the country. On the web at www.hsus.org.
