ANIMAL LAW PRACTICUM ENV.5903.01 SPTC

ENV.5903.01 SPTC:

                  ANIMAL LAW PRACTICUM
                                   Spring 2022
                           Professor Delcianna Winders
                              dwinders@vermontlaw.edu

                  SYLLABUS AND COURSE INFORMATION
                               (updated Jan. 13, 2021)

Course Description
In the Animal Law Practicum students will work under the close supervision of a
practicing attorney to develop and execute legal strategies to further the interests of
animals, with an emphasis on animals used for commercial purposes, such as for
food, experimentation, and research. Each week students will be required to
complete work on their assigned matters, meet with the supervising attorney, and
attend and participate in a seminar.
Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes
  - Students will develop a working understanding of the ethical, professional,
      and strategic considerations implicated by legal and technical advocacy in
      behalf of animals and their representatives.
  - Students will gain knowledge of and engage with the animal advocacy
      movement, including its history, underlying ethical considerations, relevant
      laws and policies, strategic considerations, and challenges.
  - Students will learn to think strategically about legal advocacy in behalf of
      animals, with attention to ethics, goals, outcomes, and hurdles.
  - Students will develop skills needed to provide representation for animals and
      their advocates.
  - Students will develop self-awareness and confidence through goal-setting,
      formalized self-reflections, and evaluative check-ins the supervising attorney.
Course Materials
  - ANTONIN SCALIA & BRYAN A. GARNER, MAKING YOUR CASE: THE ART OF
      PERSUADING JUDGES (2008).
  - pattrice jones, THE OXEN AT THE INTERSECTION: A COLLISION (2020).
  - Supplemental materials provided electronically.

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Class Meeting Information
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:20 AM - 12:35 PM, Oakes Hall 210
In addition to our class meetings, you will be required to spend ten hours a week on
average on project work, including a weekly one-on-one with the professor to check
in on your projects.

Learning Management Systems
Canvas is the primary learning management system for the seminar component of
this course. The syllabus, course materials, and course surveys are available here.

Clio is the practice management system that we will use for your practicum projects
and time tracking. You will receive information about accessing and using this
system in the second week of the semester.

Teams will be used for class and check-in meetings when in-person attendance is
excused. Because we will frequently be discussing privileged and confidential
information, we will not record our meetings.

Attendance Policy
Class attendance is required. VLS Academic Regulations require students to attend
all classes except where religious observance, serious illness, personal emergency,
or a reason that is adequate in the judgment of the professor prevents attendance. If
you are unable to attend a given session due to medical, religious, or other
circumstances truly beyond your control, you must email me as soon as practicable.
Unexcused absences will impact your participation grade. In addition, pursuant to
VLS Academic Regulations, if you are absent from twenty percent of the regularly
scheduled classes without adequate excuse, you will be automatically withdrawn
from the course with a grade of F- Wd.
Grading and Evaluation
This course is graded on a pass / fail basis. You will receive substantive feedback
from me throughout the semester and will also be asked to evaluate yourself at the
beginning, middle, and end of the semester. You must document completion of an
average of ten hours a week of project work outside of class to pass (a minimum of
127.5 hours for the semester).
Accommodations
If you need an accommodation for an illness or disability, please contact the Vice
Dean for Students Joe Brennan, jbrennan@vermontlaw.edu.
Office Hours
You will each have a weekly one-on-one meeting with me to discuss your work for
the practicum. I am also happy to meet with you by appointment.

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Course Outline
Week 1: Introductions
Thursday, Jan. 20
  - Complete initial survey on Canvas
  - Review syllabus

Week 2: Some Basics
Tuesday, Jan. 25: Vicarious Trauma
  - Taimie L. Bryant, Trauma, Law, and Advocacy for Animals, 1 J. ANIMAL L. &
     ETH. 63 (2006).
Thursday, Jan. 27: Ethics and Case Management
  - Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8.
     (only the rules themselves; reading the notes, comments, and annotations is
     optional)
  - Please watch the following training videos for Clio, the practice management
     system we will be using for the practicum:
        o Matters Overview (6 min)
        o How to Search in Clio (2 min)
        o How to Create Time and Expense Entries and Run a Timer (5 min) –
            Note: The practicum does not use activity categories – manually enter
            the activity description instead and see text snippets below. Expense
            Entries are not applicable for our purposes.
        o Text snippets (2 min) for shortcuts in time entry descriptions. See the
            second page for the preexisting text snippets that can be used in the
            description of time entries.
        o How to Upload and Download Documents (2 min)
        o How to Install the Clio Launcher (3 min) & How to Use the Clio
            Launcher (2 min)
**Friday, Jan. 28: Clinic Ethics Class
   - 9:55-11:10AM via Teams

Week 3: Strategic Impact Litigation for Animals
Tuesday, Feb. 1
  - Jonathan R. Lovvorn, Animal Law in Action: The Law, Public Perception,
     and the Limits of Animal Rights Theory as a Basis for Legal Reform, 12
     ANIMAL L. 133 (2006).
  - Matthew Liebman, Who the Judge Ate for Breakfast: On the Limits of
     Creativity in Animal Law and the Redeeming Power of Powerlessness, 18
     ANIMAL L. 133 (2011).

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Thursday, Feb. 3
  - Richard A. Daynard, Test Case Litigation as a Source of Significant Social
     Change, 18 CATHOLIC LAWYER 37 (1972).
  - Matthew Liebman, Litigation and Liberation (forthcoming 2022). (Canvas)

Week 4: Who Is the Client in Animal Law and Policy Matters?
Tuesday, Feb. 8
  - Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct 1.13, 1.14. (only the rules themselves;
     reading the notes, comments, and annotations is optional)
  - Naruto v. Slater, 888 F.3d 418 (9th Cir. 2018).

Thursday, Feb. 10
  - Nonhuman Rts. Project, Inc. ex rel. Tommy v. Lavery, 152 A.D.3d 73, 54
     N.Y.S.3d 392, 396 (2017).
  - Nonhuman Rights Project v. Breheny, No. 260441/19, 2020 WL 1670735
     (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Feb. 18, 2020).

Week 5: Standing and Animal Advocacy
Tuesday, Feb. 15: Individual Standing
  - Lujan v. Defs. of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555 (1992) (standing discussion only).
  - Animal Legal Def. Fund v. Glickman, 154 F.3d 426 (D.C. Cir. 1998) (en banc).
  - Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Env’t Servs., 528 U.S. 167 (2000) (skim
     standing discussion only).
  - Am. Soc’y for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals v. Ringling Bros. &
     Barnum & Bailey Circus, 317 F.3d 334 (D.C. Cir. 2003).
Thursday, Feb. 17: Standing for Organizations; Informational Injury
  - Hunt v. Wash. State Apple Advert. Comm’n, 432 U.S. 333 (1977) (focus on
     representational standing test).
  - Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman, 455 U.S. 363 (1982).
  - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals v. U.S. Dep’t of Agriculture, 797
     F.3d 1087 (D.C. Cir. 2015).
  - Fed. Election Comm’n v. Akins, 524 U.S. 11 (1998) (skim standing discussion
     only).
  - Friends of Animals v. Salazar, 626 F. Supp.2d 102 (D.D.C. 2009).

Week 6: Preparing for Litigation
Tuesday, Feb. 22
  - In re Primus, 436 U.S. 412 (1978).
  - Vermont Rule of Professional Conduct 7.2, 7.3, 7.4. (only the rules
     themselves; reading the notes, comments, and annotations is optional)

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Thursday, Feb. 24
  - Chapter 1: Preparing for Litigation, FEDERAL PRACTICE MANUAL FOR LEGAL
     AID ATTORNEYS (Jeffrey S. Gutman, Ed.) (updated 2013).
  - Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5.
  - Fed. R. Civ. P. 11.

Week 7: Spring Break, No Class
Tuesday, Mar. 1
Spring break, no class

Thursday, Mar. 3
Spring break, no class

Week 8: Drafting and Filing the Complaint
Tuesday, Mar. 8
  - Drafting the Complaint, FEDERAL PRACTICE MANUAL FOR LEGAL AID
     ATTORNEYS (Jeffrey S. Gutman, Ed.) (updated 2015).
  - Complete mid-semester course- and self-evaluation on Canvas

Thursday, Mar. 10
  - Sanctions, FEDERAL PRACTICE MANUAL FOR LEGAL AID ATTORNEYS (Jeffrey S.
     Gutman, Ed.) (updated 2017).
  - Filing and Service, FEDERAL PRACTICE MANUAL FOR LEGAL AID ATTORNEYS
     (Jeffrey S. Gutman, Ed.) (updated 2016).

Week 9: Making Your Case: The Basics
Tuesday, Mar. 15
  - ANTONIN SCALIA & BRYAN A. GARNER, MAKING YOUR CASE: THE ART OF
     PERSUADING JUDGES xix-38 (2008).

Thursday, Mar. 17
  - ANTONIN SCALIA & BRYAN A. GARNER, MAKING YOUR CASE: THE ART OF
     PERSUADING JUDGES 41-55 (2008).

Week 10: Briefing
Tuesday, Mar. 22
  - ANTONIN SCALIA & BRYAN A. GARNER, MAKING YOUR CASE: THE ART OF
     PERSUADING JUDGES 59-81 (2008).

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Thursday, Mar. 24
  - ANTONIN SCALIA & BRYAN A. GARNER, MAKING YOUR CASE: THE ART OF
     PERSUADING JUDGES 82-136 (2008).

Week 11: Oral Argument
Tuesday, Mar. 29
  - ANTONIN SCALIA & BRYAN A. GARNER, MAKING YOUR CASE: THE ART OF
     PERSUADING JUDGES 139-77 (2008).

Thursday, Mar. 31
  - ANTONIN SCALIA & BRYAN A. GARNER, MAKING YOUR CASE: THE ART OF
     PERSUADING JUDGES 178-206 (2008).
  - Sam Glover, How to Prepare for Oral Argument, SamGlover.net (Apr. 10,
     2020).

Week 12: Beyond Litigation: Embodied Advocacy
Tuesday, Apr. 5
  - pattrice jones, THE OXEN AT THE INTERSECTION: A COLLISION 11-92 (2020).

Thursday, Apr. 7
  - pattrice jones, THE OXEN AT THE INTERSECTION: A COLLISION 95-202 (2020).

Week 13: Legal Advocacy and the Media
Tuesday, Apr. 12
  - Gentile v. State Bar of Nev., 501 U.S. 1030 (1991).
  - Vermont Rule of Professional Conduct 3.6. (only the rule itself, reading the
     notes and comments is optional)
  - Kathy Kerchnew, Chapters 1, 4, SOUNDBITES: A BUSINESS GUIDE FOR
     WORKING WITH THE MEDIA (1997). (Canvas)
Thursday, Apr. 14
  - Kathy Kerchnew, Chapters 5-6, SOUNDBITES: A BUSINESS GUIDE FOR
     WORKING WITH THE MEDIA (1997). (Canvas)
Week 14: Animal Advocacy and the Administrative State
Tuesday, Apr. 19
  - 5 U.S.C. §§ 551, 552, 553.
  - 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-706.
  - JARED P. COLE, CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERV., AN INTRODUCTION TO
     JUDICIAL REVIEW OF FEDERAL AGENCY ACTION (Dec. 7, 2016).

Thursday, Apr. 21
  - Heckler v. Chaney, 470 US 821 (1985).

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Week 15: Changing the Law for Animals
Tuesday, Apr. 26
  - Nancy Perry, A Quarter of a Century of Animal Law: Our Roots, Our Growth,
     and Our Stretch Toward the Sun, 25 ANIMAL L. 395 (2019).

Thursday, Apr. 28
  - ANIMAL LEGAL DEFENSE FUND, WORKING WITH LEGISLATORS.
  - ANIMAL WELFARE INSTITUTE, HOW TO COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY WITH
     LEGISLATORS.
  - Complete final course- and self-evaluation on Canvas

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