Pamela Frasch

Professor of Law and the Brooks McCormick Jr. Scholar of Animal Law and Policy

Legal Research Center 320
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Biography

Professor Frasch is the Brooks McCormick Jr. Scholar of Animal Law and Policy and founder of the Center for Animal Law Studies (CALS). CALS is an academic animal law program with a focus on academic research, scholarship, and experiential education. The mission of CALS is to educate the next generation of animal law attorneys and advance animal protection through the law. CALS is dedicated to:

  • Training law students and lawyers for careers as leaders in all aspects of animal law and related fields;
  • Conducting, supporting, and promoting rigorous, independent legal research that advances the field of animal law; and
  • Developing and implementing innovative recommendations and legal strategies relating to animal law within administrative, legislative, litigation, and other settings.

Previously, Professor Frasch served as general counsel for the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), a national nonprofit animal protection law organization that seeks to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system. In 1996, Professor Frasch created the ALDF Criminal Justice Program which has since assisted law enforcement and animal advocates in investigating and prosecuting thousands of animal abuse and neglect cases nationwide.

Professor Frasch began teaching survey and advanced courses in animal law at Lewis & Clark Law School in 1998, and was the first person ever to be appointed dean of animal law, a position she held, in addition to teaching, from 2010 to 2020. In addition to her duties with CALS, Professor Frasch is co-author of the premier American legal casebook in the field, Animal Law: Cases and Materials, now in its sixth edition (Carolina Academic Press, 2019). This casebook has been used by over 160 law schools in the United States, and is credited with helping to shape the development of animal law education. She is also co-author of Animal Law in a Nutshell now in its third edition (Thomson West, 2020).

Professor Frasch has traveled to many countries around the world to speak and guest lecture on a wide variety of animal law issues. She is the principal author of Oregon’s first felony anti-cruelty law and has authored or co-authored a number of articles and book chapters in the field, and has been recognized by the Association of American Law Schools, the Humane Society of the United States, and the Oregon Humane Society for her contributions.

Prior to focusing her practice on animal law, Professor Frasch specialized in labor and employment law at Littler Mendelson and Hanson, Bridgett, in San Francisco and employee benefits law at Stoel Rives in Portland, Oregon. She is a member of the California and Oregon State Bars.

Specialty Areas and Course Descriptions

Academic Credentials

  • JD, William Mitchell College of Law
  • BA, University of Minnesota

Bibliography

Separately Published Works

  • ANIMAL LAW IN A NUTSHELL (Thomson West, 3rd Ed., 2020) (co-authored with Sonia S. Waisman and Kathy Hessler).
  • ANIMAL LAW, CASES AND MATERIALS (Carolina Academic Press, 6th Ed., 2019) (co-authored with Sonia S. Waisman and Bruce A. Wagman).
  • ANIMAL LAW (Carolina Academic Press, 2000) (co-authored with Sonia S. Waisman, Bruce A. Wagman and Scott Beckstead).

Works Published as Part of a Collection

  • Animal Law: The Next Generation, with Joyce Tischler, 25 ANIMAL L. 303 (2019)
  • Gaps in U.S. Animal Welfare Laws for Lab Animals, Institute for Laboratory Animal Research Journal, Dr. Paul A. Locke, Ed. (2017)
  • Implementing Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities, with Paul A. Locke, Margit Westphal, Joyce Tischler, Kathy Hessler, Bruce Meyers, and Daniel Krewski, Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B (2015).
  • Animal Law – A Global Phenomenon, with Kathy Hessler and Natasha Dolezal, Global Journal of Animal Law, Åbo Akademi University Department of Law, Finland (2014).
  • The Future of Animal Law: Moving Beyond Preaching to the Choir, 60 J. LEGAL ED. 209 (2010) (with Megan Senatori) (also published as part of the proceedings of the Pan-African Animal Welfare Alliance Conference, Nairobi, September 2013)
  • The Future of Animal Law: Moving Beyond Preaching to the Choir, with Megan Senatori, in ANIMAL LAW ANTHOLOGY, Margot Michel, Daniela Kühne, and Julia Hänni, editors, University of Zurich, BWV Berliner, Wissenschafts-Verlag Publisher (2012).
  • La différence de traitement des animaux en fonction de leur espèce et de leur utilisation: un dilemme juridique et déontologique aux États-Unis, (French translation) 1 REVUE SEMESTRIELLE DE DROIT ANIMALIER – RSDA (OBSERVATOIRE DESMUTATIONS INSTITUTIONNELLES ET JURIDIQUES, LIMOGES, FR.) 257 (2010) (co-authored with Dr. Hollie Lund)
  • The Unequal Treatment of Animals by Species and Practice in the United States: A Moral and Legal Dilemma (with Dr. Hollie Lund), published in:
    • L’animal Dans la Spirale des Besoins de L’humain, (in French) (M. Lachance  (dir.)), Cowansville, Éditions Yvon Blais, 2010, p.15
    • Revista Brasileira de Direito Animal (in Portuguese) (Heron José de Santana Gordilo, Luciano Rocha Santana, Tagore Trajano de Almeida Silva, Coordenação) Ano 4, Número 5, 2010, p. 11
    • Crime, Restoration and Responsibility, Research Project Report No. 185, Chiba University Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences (in Japanese) (From the proceedings of the Japanese Association of Legal Philosophy)  (I. Shimazu, ed.) 2010, p. 45
  • Criminal Law, in LITIGATING ANIMAL LAW DISPUTES (ABA Publishing, J. Schaffner and J. Fershtman, eds.) (2009) (co-authored with Dana Campbell).
  • The Impact of Improved Anti-Cruelty Laws in the Investigation, Prosecution and Sentencing of Abusers, in THE INTERNATIONAL HANDBOOK OF THEORY, RESEARCH AND APPLICATION ON ANIMAL ABUSE AND CRUELTY (Purdue University Press, F. Ascione, ed.) (2008).
  • Addressing Animal Abuse:  The Complementary Roles of Religion, Secular Ethics and the Law, 8 JOURNAL OF ANIMAL-HUMAN STUDIES 311 (2000).
  • Recognizing, Investigating and Prosecuting Animal Cruelty, in GUIDEBOOK FOR VETERINARIANS (American Humane Association (2000)).
  • State Animal Anti-Cruelty Statutes: An Overview, 5 ANIMAL L. 69 (1999) (co-authored with Stephan K. Otto, Kristen M. Olsen, Paul A. Ernest).

Latest Presentations

Presentations

  • “Histories of Non-Human Animals in Law” (discussant) at Comparative Animal Law Virtual Postgraduate Workshop for Emerging Scholars, Kent Law School on May 25, 2023.

  • “Crimes Against Animals: Innovative Outcomes for Animals and People” (moderator) at 30th Annual Animal Law Conference, Nov. 4-6, 2022. 

  • “Animal Rights Speaker Series” (presenter) at University of Arkansas Law School on March 31, 2023. 

  • Sustainable Protein: The Legal, Business, and Ethical Dimensions” (Moderator) for Doing Well by Doing Good: The Nexus Between Innovative Food Companies & Socially Responsible Investing on March 14th, 2022. (virtual). 

  • “28th Annual Animal Law Conference” with Stephen Wells, ED of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, on October 23, 2020. 

  • Lecture, “Anti-Cruelty Laws and the AWA,” The Law and Ethics of Animal Testing, Portland OR, July 19, 2018.

  • “Implementing Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities.” Vol. 20 Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health(2017).

  • “Beyond the Law: Nontraditional Approaches to Increasing Animal Protection.” III Global Animal Law Conference, Hong Kong, China. May 4, 2018.

  • “25 Years of Animal Law.” 25th Annual Animal Law Conference, Portland, Oregon. October 20, 2017.

  • “Animals in Entertainment: Legal Issues.” Animal Grantmakers’ Annual Conference, Portland, Oregon. October 15, 2017.

  • “Animal Law Education.” Animal Grantmakers’ Annual Conference, Portland, Oregon. October 15, 2017.

  • Animals in Agriculture: Challenges and Opportunities (panel). Eat, Pray, Law: A Food Forum, Lewis & Clark Law School, Portland, Oregon. March 13, 2015.

  • “Animal Law Education.” Global Animal Law Conference, Autonomous University of Barcelona Law School, Barcelona, Spain. July 12, 2014.

  • How Can I Get a Job Advocating for Animals? (panel). The 22nd Annual Animal Law Conference, Lewis & Clark Law School, Portland, Oregon. October 18, 2014.

  • “Animal Law in the United States.” Autonomous University of Barcelona Law School, Barcelona, Spain. March 19, 2015.

Latest Awards and Honors

Awards and Honors

  • Recipient of the Stiftung für das Tier im Recht (TIR) International Animal Law Award for work in animal law education, scholarship, conferences, competition, legal development, and student mentoring. March 15, 2015. With Natasha Dolezal, director of the Animal Law LLM Degree Program; Kathy Hessler, clinical professor of law and director of the Animal Law Clinic; and Lindsay Kadish, director of operations for the Center for Animal Law Studies.

  • Recipient of the inaugural AALS Animal Law Section Award for Excellence in Animal Law: Teaching, Scholarship, and Service. January 9, 2016.