How Lawyers Can Make a Difference: Pro Bono Opportunities in Animal Law
Introduction to Animal Law Pro Bono Work
The Animal Legal Defense Fund uses the tagline “All of our clients are innocent.” I would add to that and none of them can afford a lawyer. And almost no organization that works to protect animals can afford one either. Animal law is one of the few areas where almost none of those who need legal services can afford to pay for them. So many of my law students ask how they can get jobs where they get paid to protect animals and a lucky few get to live that dream. For the others, I always say there is plenty of pro bono work that often finds no takers. Taking on an animal related pro bono matter for an individual or nonprofit organization can be an incredibly rewarding experience. There are so many ways that attorneys can use their skills to benefit animals and the people who devote their lives to helping them.
Key Areas for Pro Bono Animal Law Work
1. Forming a nonprofit corporation and applying for 501(c)(3) Status
New organizations that support, house or advocate on behalf of animals are formed all the time. They need help incorporating and seeking 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service. Some nonlawyers are savvy enough to do it on their own but a lawyer who can pull some forms from similar organizations that have already been approved by the IRS can give them a real leg up.
2. Advice on Contracts and Forms
Shelters and rescues enter into agreements with each other as well as with adopters and fosters. They could often use a lawyer’s advice on drafting those contracts to ensure that the animals are protected to the fullest extent possible, and the shelter or rescue’s liability is minimized. For example, does their contract with a foster home spell out clearly who is responsible for what? Do they require waivers be signed for animals with known behavior issues? Does your local shelter allow rescues to pull animals and, if so, do they require proof of 501(c)(3) status, insurance and kennel license? What happens if the foster refuses to return the animal or adopts them out without telling the rescue? In that case, they may need a lawyer to represent the rescue in court.
3. Costs of Care Petitions
Many states have passed laws allowing shelters that seize victims of animal cruelty to recover the cost of caring for those animals during the pendency of the criminal proceedings. Before those laws passed, when humane societies seized animals, they had to provide expensive veterinary care as well as house and care for the animals at their own expense until the criminal case concluded. This could often take months or, in some cases, years during which time the animals remained the legal property of their owners and so could not be adopted out. Instead, they passed their days waiting in cages or kennels. Even if the shelters were eventually awarded restitution, that was often much later and the award was usually uncollectible.
Costs of Care laws provide shelters with a powerful weapon to recover their costs much earlier in the process. The procedures differ by state but, in general the laws allow shelters to go to court for an award of the reasonable costs of caring for seized animals, including the provision of food, water, shelter and veterinary care, from the time of the seizure through ultimate disposition of the case. Since animals are generally not seized unless they require immediate veterinary care and cruelty cases often involve numerous animals, that number can get very substantial, very quickly.
Shelters often require legal help to prepare the petition attesting to the basis for the seizure, specifying in detail the costs incurred for each animal and presenting evidence at a hearing if the defendant opposes the petition. This experience can offer young lawyers a chance to practice their trial skills. If the order is issued requiring payment of the costs and the defendant is unwilling or unable to pay, the animals are automatically forfeited to the shelter, which can then adopt them out. Because of this, helping with cost of care petitions can be uniquely rewarding in that it often results in animals that have been treated poorly and then stuck in a shelter, finally being able to leave for a good home.
4. Civil Litigation
How do shelters and rescues get involved in litigation? Well, people sometimes sue when they get injured at the shelter or by an animal the shelter or rescue adopted out. In most cases, insurance carriers provide a defense for those types of cases but smaller rescues that cannot afford proper insurance may need pro bono litigation counsel. Shelters may also face suits by employees or volunteers for discrimination, breach of contract or other rights afforded by federal or state law. So, employment law may also be an expertise that is valuable to rescues and shelters.
Shelters and rescues may also lack insurance coverage for civil rights violations. In Pennsylvania, for example, humane society police officers (“HSPO’s”) are authorized to investigate violations of the animal cruelty laws including getting search warrants, seizing animals and filing criminal charges. These enforcement powers implicate the constitutional rights of animal owners. It follows that humane officers and the shelters that employ them can be sued for violations of state and federal law including violations of the Fourth Amendment guaranteeing the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures and the Fourteenth Amendment right to not be deprived of oneÕs property or liberty without due process of law.
Making things even more challenging, state agencies and police departments subject to such liability are protected by both sovereign immunity and qualified immunity, limiting their financial exposure. But, because they are not governmental entities, private nonprofits are often not protected by governmental immunity. See Snead v. Pennsylvania SPCA, 989 A.2d 909 (2009) (ruling that the Pennsylvania SPCA was not entitled to the defense of sovereign immunity as a protection against claims that the plaintiffÕs animals were wrongly euthanized); Kauffman v. Pennsylvania SPCA, 766 F. Supp.2d 555 E.D. Pa. 12011) (ruling that the defense of qualified immunity is generally unavailable to the SPCA and its humane society police officers unless they are working under the supervision of the state at the time). This anomaly renders it even more expensive for private nonprofits to enforce the law than it would be for state or local police. Attorneys experienced in defense of civil rights claims can be helpful in advising nonprofits about how to avoid liability (through training for HSPOs and other staff) as well as how to respond when claims are made.
5. Join a Nonprofit Board
Lawyers are valuable on boards of directors of nonprofit organizations. Shelters and rescues need advice in how to minimize risk, handle touchy situations with staff and volunteers and what types of insurance to buy, among other things. Do some homework first to make sure it’s an organization that you can stand behind. Get to know the leaders and ask for financials before considering board membership. And make sure they have director’s and officer’s insurance.
Lawyers looking to spend pro bono hours working on behalf of animals have many opportunities to give of their time stand to get back even more than they give.
