Newly popular specialty: Animal law
The conversation up front was serious: lawyers and advocates taking earnest notes about liability and case law. But in the back of the Center City conference room, two tiny white kittens paced and stretched in their cage, drawing smiles from people all around them. A brown dog snoozed blissfully at someone's feet.
The conversation up front was serious: lawyers and advocates taking earnest notes about liability and case law.
But in the back of the Center City conference room, two tiny white kittens paced and stretched in their cage, drawing smiles from people all around them. A brown dog snoozed blissfully at someone's feet.
The Pennsylvania Bar Institute presented its 12th annual Animal Law Conference on Wednesday, a unique day of professional education that featured topics like "Alternatives to Animal Testing" and "Ethical and Moral Dilemmas of Representation in Animal Law." About 100 people showed up; 50 more participated via simulcast in places like Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre.
Lisa Muench, the Bar Institute's associate director and an organizer since the early days of the conference, put it this way: in Pennsylvania, lawyers must complete 12 hours of continuing legal education annually.
"And people would rather hang out all day with kittens than sit down for six hours to learn about trusts," Muench said.
Animal law is growing in importance, increasingly viewed less as a fringe issue and more as something clients take seriously and spend time and money considering, participants said.
Ann O'Keefe, a Delaware County lawyer who focuses on estates, has attended the animal conference every year it's been offered. Many of her clients are grappling with what do with pets after their own deaths, she said.
"People have always wanted to have some protection for their animals after they pass, but now there are more options and more organizations that can help," O'Keefe said. "We take care of our kids - we should take care of our four-legged family members, too."
In Lynnore K. Seaton's "Five Things You Need to Know About Pets in Divorce and Estate Planning" session, the York County lawyer noted that contrary to some clients' wishes, pets cannot be named as beneficiaries in a will.
"Unfortunately, in Pennsylvania, pets are still considered property," Seaton said. "It's a very cold assessment of what a pet is, quite contradictory to how people feel about their pets."
Seaton led a discussion of pets in divorce cases, statistics about pets and domestic violence, and setting up pet trusts. "It's like finding a good godparent for your kid - is this person going to be a good caretaker?" observed Kathy McGuire, president of NJ Aid for Animals, a South Jersey nonprofit.
Michael Bannerman, a local criminal defense lawyer, said he attended because he's an animal lover.
"Animal law," Bannerman said, "is becoming more mainstream."
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