Rajesh K. Reddy Promoted to Animal Law Program Director

Dr. Rajesh K. Reddy is stepping into a new role as the Animal Law Program Director at the Center for Animal Law Studies (CALS) at Lewis & Clark Law School. In this new role, Raj will handle the key issues of developing, managing, and administering CALS’ world-class animal law program for JD students, LLM students, and its newly launched Animal Law MSL degree for non-lawyers.

“Raj is a tremendous asset to animal law education, his colleagues, our mission at CALS, and, of course, the animals. We are excited to have Raj take on this new position as it will be critical in ensuring that our faculty and students are supported consistent with our recent growth. I am certain that he will successfully lead our animal law program and multiple degree offerings into this next exciting chapter,” says CALS Executive Director and Assistant Dean, Pamela Hart.

Raj previously served as the Animal Law LLM Program Director from 2018 to 2020, where he oversaw CALS’ Animal Law LLM degree program, the world’s only advanced legal degree in animal law. Promoted to CALS’ Global Animal Law and Advanced Degree Program Director, he leveraged the expertise, training, and skills of CALS’ Animal Law LLM alumni to foster and facilitate animal protection initiatives through CALS’ Global Ambassador Program. In addition to these roles, Raj has been actively involved in the American Bar Association’s Animal Law Section and was featured in the ABA Journal as a Member Who Inspires last year.

Prior to joining CALS, Raj earned his JD from Lewis & Clark Law School and his PhD from the University of Georgia, where his dissertation scrutinized the representation of human and nonhuman animals in postcolonial literature and rights discourse. He has advanced human and nonhuman animal rights as part of his work for several nonprofits, including the Human Rights Law Network in New Delhi, India. In his new role, he will continue to teach a number of CALS’ core courses, including International Animal Law and Animal Legal Philosophy, among others.

Regarding his new role, Raj says: “As a graduate of Lewis & Clark’s Animal Law Program, I’m heartened to be able to continue giving back to the Center for Animal Law Studies and advance its mission to educate future generations of animal law advocates.”

The Center for Animal Law Studies (CALS) was founded in 2008 with a mission to educate the next generation of animal law advocates and advance animal protection through the law. With vision and bold risk-taking, CALS has since developed into a world-renowned animal law epicenter, with the most comprehensive animal law curriculum offered anywhere. CALS is the only program that offers Animal Law LLM and MSL degrees—offered both in-person and online—as well as three specialty animal law clinics. CALS is a nonprofit organization and is only able to provide these educational opportunities through donations and grants.