June 06, 2019

Pamela Hart Steps into New Role as Executive Director of CALS

Pamela Hart became the new Executive Director of the Center for Animal Law Studies (CALS) at Lewis & Clark Law School on June 1, after serving as the Director of Strategic Initiatives for the past year.

Pamela Hart became the new Executive Director of the Center for Animal Law Studies (CALS) at Lewis & Clark Law School on June 1, after serving as the Director of Strategic Initiatives for the past year.

Hart takes over the role from Pamela Frasch, who served as both the Executive Director and Associate Dean of the Animal Law Program. As the Animal Law Program and CALS have grown significantly in recent years, responsibilities in both of these positions have grown as well.

“A joint ED/AD position no longer made sense programmatically and, as our program continues to develop, we now need an ED who can exclusively focus on CALS and our organizational goals and priorities, as we continue to build upon our animal protection initiatives.” Frasch said.

This new role for Hart plays to her many strengths, including a combination of her nonprofit leadership, academic accomplishments, and business acumen. Hart held a leadership and supervisory position at Animal Legal Defense Fund for over 13 years and has a long list of substantive accomplishments during her tenure there. She helped expand the SALDF Program from 40 to almost 200 student chapters at ABA accredited law schools, as well as exponentially expanding resources and opportunities for law students including project grants, travel grants, scholarships, and clerkship opportunities.

On the academic front, Hart was the first person to develop and teach an Animal Law course at the University of Chicago Law School, as well as at her alma mater, the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also worked closely with Professors Kathy Hessler and Joyce Tischler to co-author Animal Law-New Perspectives on Teaching Traditional Law: A Context and Practice Casebook. Before delving into animal law, Hart leveraged her business degree while working for several Fortune 500 companies including ATT, Ford, and IBM.

“We are thrilled that Pam Hart is our new Executive Director,” Frasch said. “I’m confident that under her leadership, CALS will continue to advance groundbreaking animal protection initiatives, and educate the next generation of advocates.”

Frasch will continue to be substantially involved in CALS fundraising and development in her Associate Dean role. In addition, she will focus more on strategic program development, teaching, outreach, writing, and providing support to Lewis & Clark Law School’s growing group of animal law faculty.

 

About the Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis & Clark Law School

Lewis & Clark Law School has been the vanguard of animal law for more than a quarter century. Over a decade ago, the Center for Animal Law Studies (CALS) was launched at the law school. CALS offers the most extensive animal law curriculum in the world, with over 25 individual courses in animal law, as well as an Animal Law Certificate and the world’s first and only Master of Laws (LLM) in Animal Law, which is designed for US and international law school graduates.

In addition, CALS is home to the first legal journal devoted exclusively to animal law (Animal Law Review), the first student animal law organization (L&C SALDF), the world’s longest-running Animal Law Conference, and the world’s first and only Dean of Animal Law.

Notably, Lewis & Clark Law School offers two groundbreaking animal law clinics. The original Animal Law Clinic established in 2008 serves as a comprehensive training ground for students interested in the full range of policy and related work to benefit animals. The Animal Law Litigation Clinic (established 2019) offers cutting-edge litigation training for the next generation of lawyers so they can advocate for animals in the courtroom and develop creative ways to establish and expand the legal protections and rights of farmed animals.