Animal Law Guild Conference 2015
Planning Committee
Planning Committee
CONFERENCE CO-CHAIRS
Nicole Herft, Ph.D., J.D., Senior Associate, Winston & Strawn LLP
Chair, Animal Law Guild
Vice President, The Animal Protectorates - TAPS
Co-Chair, Animal Law Guild Conference 2015
Nicole Herft, Ph.D., J.D., is Co-founder and Chair of the Animal Law Guild, the advocacy arm of The Animal Protectorates - TAPS. Nicole is also a senior associate attorney in the Los Angeles office of Winston & Strawn LLP where she concentrates her practice on intellectual property and complex commercial litigation, including trademark and copyright, false advertising, unfair competition, financial services, and other business torts and contract disputes.
Nicole is passionate about animal protection and, as such, devotes a significant amount of pro bono time to animal law issues in an effort to “Raise the BAR for Animals” through legal advocacy. Nicole is an active member of the American Bar Association TIPS Animal Law Committee, and has written several lead articles for their newsletter. Nicole is also on the Executive Board of the National Coalition on Violence Against Animals (NCOVAA) and has previously served as Chair of the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Los Angeles regional attorney network. Nicole spearheaded the Animal Law Guild’s inaugural event in 2014 – the inspiring “Trailblazers of Animal Law” Conference.
Nicole has handled several other types of pro bono matters, including representation of a class action of people with disabilities unable to access court facilities and programs, an immigrant seeking political asylum, and a prisoner in a habeas matter.
Before becoming an attorney, Nicole had a successful career as an organizational psychologist specializing in market research, brand strategy and strategic planning. She ran her own consulting business while attending Loyola Law School’s evening program where she graduated 1st in her class. Nicole has a B.A. from the University of California at Davis, an M.A. from California State University, Sacramento, a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from The Ohio State University, and a J.D., summa cum laude, from Loyola Law School.
Chair, Animal Law Guild
Vice President, The Animal Protectorates - TAPS
Co-Chair, Animal Law Guild Conference 2015
Nicole Herft, Ph.D., J.D., is Co-founder and Chair of the Animal Law Guild, the advocacy arm of The Animal Protectorates - TAPS. Nicole is also a senior associate attorney in the Los Angeles office of Winston & Strawn LLP where she concentrates her practice on intellectual property and complex commercial litigation, including trademark and copyright, false advertising, unfair competition, financial services, and other business torts and contract disputes.
Nicole is passionate about animal protection and, as such, devotes a significant amount of pro bono time to animal law issues in an effort to “Raise the BAR for Animals” through legal advocacy. Nicole is an active member of the American Bar Association TIPS Animal Law Committee, and has written several lead articles for their newsletter. Nicole is also on the Executive Board of the National Coalition on Violence Against Animals (NCOVAA) and has previously served as Chair of the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Los Angeles regional attorney network. Nicole spearheaded the Animal Law Guild’s inaugural event in 2014 – the inspiring “Trailblazers of Animal Law” Conference.
Nicole has handled several other types of pro bono matters, including representation of a class action of people with disabilities unable to access court facilities and programs, an immigrant seeking political asylum, and a prisoner in a habeas matter.
Before becoming an attorney, Nicole had a successful career as an organizational psychologist specializing in market research, brand strategy and strategic planning. She ran her own consulting business while attending Loyola Law School’s evening program where she graduated 1st in her class. Nicole has a B.A. from the University of California at Davis, an M.A. from California State University, Sacramento, a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from The Ohio State University, and a J.D., summa cum laude, from Loyola Law School.
Sonia S. Waisman, Partner, McCloskey, Waring & Waisman LLP
Co-Chair, Animal Law Guild Conference 2015
Sonia Waisman is a business litigator in Los Angeles, focusing on complex insurance coverage litigation. She has been national environmental coverage counsel for several large insurance companies and has served as liaison counsel in multi-billion dollar cases. She also served as Judge Pro Tem for the San Diego County Superior Court, Small Claims Division, before relocating to Los Angeles. While in law school she was a judicial extern with the California Court of Appeal, Fourth District.
Ms. Waisman also is actively involved in the development of animal law. She co-authored the first animal law casebook, now in its fifth edition (Animal Law: Cases and Materials, Carolina Academic Press 2014), and Animal Law in a Nutshell (West 2011). She has also written articles on the subject. She has been an Adjunct Professor of Animal Law at Loyola Law School (L.A.); created and developed the first animal law course at California Western School of Law in San Diego; and was a Visiting Law Professor at Vermont Law School. Ms. Waisman is actively involved in the National Animal Law Appellate Moot Court Competition held annually at Harvard Law School. She also lectures and speaks at animal law conferences, including the Animal Law Guild’s Inaugural Conference in 2014. And Ms. Waisman is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Vegan Trade Council.
Ms. Waisman was a Partner in the Los Angeles office of Morrison & Foerster LLP before joining McCloskey, Waring & Waisman LLP. During her time at Morrison & Foerster she handled pro bono animal law cases and worked with the firm’s pro bono administrators to increase awareness of animal issues and greatly expand the number of such cases taken on by attorneys throughout the firm.
Co-Chair, Animal Law Guild Conference 2015
Sonia Waisman is a business litigator in Los Angeles, focusing on complex insurance coverage litigation. She has been national environmental coverage counsel for several large insurance companies and has served as liaison counsel in multi-billion dollar cases. She also served as Judge Pro Tem for the San Diego County Superior Court, Small Claims Division, before relocating to Los Angeles. While in law school she was a judicial extern with the California Court of Appeal, Fourth District.
Ms. Waisman also is actively involved in the development of animal law. She co-authored the first animal law casebook, now in its fifth edition (Animal Law: Cases and Materials, Carolina Academic Press 2014), and Animal Law in a Nutshell (West 2011). She has also written articles on the subject. She has been an Adjunct Professor of Animal Law at Loyola Law School (L.A.); created and developed the first animal law course at California Western School of Law in San Diego; and was a Visiting Law Professor at Vermont Law School. Ms. Waisman is actively involved in the National Animal Law Appellate Moot Court Competition held annually at Harvard Law School. She also lectures and speaks at animal law conferences, including the Animal Law Guild’s Inaugural Conference in 2014. And Ms. Waisman is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Vegan Trade Council.
Ms. Waisman was a Partner in the Los Angeles office of Morrison & Foerster LLP before joining McCloskey, Waring & Waisman LLP. During her time at Morrison & Foerster she handled pro bono animal law cases and worked with the firm’s pro bono administrators to increase awareness of animal issues and greatly expand the number of such cases taken on by attorneys throughout the firm.
CONFERENCE VICE CHAIRS
Yolanda Eisenstein, Attorney At Law
Vice Chair, Animal Law Guild Conference 2015
Yolanda Eisenstein is an attorney with an animal law practice in Dallas, Texas, and an adjunct professor of animal law at SMU Dedman School of Law. Eisenstein is the author of Careers in Animal Law, the Legal Guide for Dog Owners, and is a contributor to Animal Cruelty: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Understanding. In addition, she has written numerous articles and speaks regularly on animal law and animal protection issues. She is former chair of the American Bar Association TIPS Animal Law Committee and served two terms as chair of the State Bar of Texas Animal Law Section.
Vice Chair, Animal Law Guild Conference 2015
Yolanda Eisenstein is an attorney with an animal law practice in Dallas, Texas, and an adjunct professor of animal law at SMU Dedman School of Law. Eisenstein is the author of Careers in Animal Law, the Legal Guide for Dog Owners, and is a contributor to Animal Cruelty: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Understanding. In addition, she has written numerous articles and speaks regularly on animal law and animal protection issues. She is former chair of the American Bar Association TIPS Animal Law Committee and served two terms as chair of the State Bar of Texas Animal Law Section.
Professor Joan E. Schaffner, J.D., Associate Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School
Vice Chair, Animal Law Guild Conference 2015
Professor Joan E. Schaffner, J.D., is an Associate Professor of Law at the George Washington University Law School. She received her B.S. in mechanical engineering (magna cum laude) and J.D. (Order of the Coif) from the University of Southern California and her M.S. in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is an inactive member of the California Bar and an active member of the D.C. Bar. Professor Schaffner worked at the law firm of Irell & Manella in Los Angeles California and clerked for the Honorable Marianna Pfaelzer in the Central District of California before coming to GW Law.
Professor Schaffner teaches Civil Procedure, Remedies, and Sexuality and the Law. She is the faculty advisor to Lambda Law, the GLBT student organization at GW, and is faculty advisor and editor-in-chief of the American Intellectual Property Law Association Quarterly Journal.
Professor Schaffner directs the GW Animal Law Program which consists of the GW Animal Welfare Project (AWP), a pro bono effort of faculty and students devoted to researching and improving the lives of animal through the law; seminars in animal law; and a student chapter of the Animal Legal Defense Fund (SALDF). Professor Schaffner has presented on animal law panels at conferences world-wide.
Professor Schaffner’s most recent book entitled Introduction to Animals and the Law was published by Palgrave MacMillan in 2011 as part of their Animal Ethics Series. She is a co-author and editor of two books published by the American Bar Association: A Lawyer’s Guide to Dangerous Dog Issues (2009) and Litigating Animal Law Disputes: A Complete Guide for Lawyers (2009) and is author of the chapters “Americans Working on behalf of the UnderDOGS” in Searching for the American Dream: How a Sense of Place Shapes the Study of History (Cambridge Scholars Publishing 2013), “Canine profiling” in Global Guide to Animal Protection (Univ. Illinois Press 2013), “Animal Cruelty and the Law: Permitted Conduct” in Animal Cruelty: A Multidisciplinary Approach (Carolina Academic Press 2013) and “Laws and Policy to Address the Link of Family Violence” in The Link Between Animal Abuse and Humane Violence (Sussex Academic Press 2009). Professor Schaffner is active in various organizations including: Past Chair and Newsletter Vice-Chair, ABA TIPS Animal Law Committee; Founding Chair and Chair (2015) of the AALS Section on Animal Law; and Fellow, Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics. In August 2013 Professor Schaffner received the Excellence in the Advancement of Animal Law Award from the American Bar Association, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section.
On a personal note, Professor Schaffner shares her life and home with a magnificent group of felines.
Vice Chair, Animal Law Guild Conference 2015
Professor Joan E. Schaffner, J.D., is an Associate Professor of Law at the George Washington University Law School. She received her B.S. in mechanical engineering (magna cum laude) and J.D. (Order of the Coif) from the University of Southern California and her M.S. in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is an inactive member of the California Bar and an active member of the D.C. Bar. Professor Schaffner worked at the law firm of Irell & Manella in Los Angeles California and clerked for the Honorable Marianna Pfaelzer in the Central District of California before coming to GW Law.
Professor Schaffner teaches Civil Procedure, Remedies, and Sexuality and the Law. She is the faculty advisor to Lambda Law, the GLBT student organization at GW, and is faculty advisor and editor-in-chief of the American Intellectual Property Law Association Quarterly Journal.
Professor Schaffner directs the GW Animal Law Program which consists of the GW Animal Welfare Project (AWP), a pro bono effort of faculty and students devoted to researching and improving the lives of animal through the law; seminars in animal law; and a student chapter of the Animal Legal Defense Fund (SALDF). Professor Schaffner has presented on animal law panels at conferences world-wide.
Professor Schaffner’s most recent book entitled Introduction to Animals and the Law was published by Palgrave MacMillan in 2011 as part of their Animal Ethics Series. She is a co-author and editor of two books published by the American Bar Association: A Lawyer’s Guide to Dangerous Dog Issues (2009) and Litigating Animal Law Disputes: A Complete Guide for Lawyers (2009) and is author of the chapters “Americans Working on behalf of the UnderDOGS” in Searching for the American Dream: How a Sense of Place Shapes the Study of History (Cambridge Scholars Publishing 2013), “Canine profiling” in Global Guide to Animal Protection (Univ. Illinois Press 2013), “Animal Cruelty and the Law: Permitted Conduct” in Animal Cruelty: A Multidisciplinary Approach (Carolina Academic Press 2013) and “Laws and Policy to Address the Link of Family Violence” in The Link Between Animal Abuse and Humane Violence (Sussex Academic Press 2009). Professor Schaffner is active in various organizations including: Past Chair and Newsletter Vice-Chair, ABA TIPS Animal Law Committee; Founding Chair and Chair (2015) of the AALS Section on Animal Law; and Fellow, Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics. In August 2013 Professor Schaffner received the Excellence in the Advancement of Animal Law Award from the American Bar Association, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section.
On a personal note, Professor Schaffner shares her life and home with a magnificent group of felines.
Crystal Sepi Yagoobian, Attorney at Law; Docket Supervisor, Tucker Ellis, LLP
Vice Chair, Animal Law Guild Conference 2015
Crystal S. (“Sepi”) Yagoobian has substantial experience in civil business litigation, appeals, insurance defense, and class action litigation. Sepi is dedicated to animal welfare issues and is passionate about protecting animals through legal advocacy and education. Sepi served as Vice Chair of the successful inaugural Animal Law Guild Conference 2014, in which she coordinated speaker topics, moderated a panel, and developed promotion and marketing strategies and content.
As a pro bono attorney and volunteer for the Animal Law Guild, Sepi also provides support on issues of intellectual property and legal compliance and risk, website legal policies and disclaimers, social media outreach tools to educate the public and legal community about significant animal law developments, and continuing legal education events and pro bono projects for attorneys and law students to effectively advocate on critical animal protection issues. Sepi is also a member of American Bar Association’s Animal Law Committee and co-authored a recently published article concerning milestone decisions by the Oregon Supreme Court regarding the changing legal status of animals as “property.”
In her spare time, Sepi volunteers with animal rescue organizations to promote the adoption of rescued and special needs dogs that have been abandoned in the shelters or on the streets.
Vice Chair, Animal Law Guild Conference 2015
Crystal S. (“Sepi”) Yagoobian has substantial experience in civil business litigation, appeals, insurance defense, and class action litigation. Sepi is dedicated to animal welfare issues and is passionate about protecting animals through legal advocacy and education. Sepi served as Vice Chair of the successful inaugural Animal Law Guild Conference 2014, in which she coordinated speaker topics, moderated a panel, and developed promotion and marketing strategies and content.
As a pro bono attorney and volunteer for the Animal Law Guild, Sepi also provides support on issues of intellectual property and legal compliance and risk, website legal policies and disclaimers, social media outreach tools to educate the public and legal community about significant animal law developments, and continuing legal education events and pro bono projects for attorneys and law students to effectively advocate on critical animal protection issues. Sepi is also a member of American Bar Association’s Animal Law Committee and co-authored a recently published article concerning milestone decisions by the Oregon Supreme Court regarding the changing legal status of animals as “property.”
In her spare time, Sepi volunteers with animal rescue organizations to promote the adoption of rescued and special needs dogs that have been abandoned in the shelters or on the streets.
CONFERENCE COORDINATORS
Diane Chang, J.D. Candidate 2017, Loyola Law School
Law Student Coordinator, Animal Law Guild Conference 2015
Diane Chang received her undergraduate degree from UC San Diego and subsequently moved to Paris, France, to dive into the world of fashion design. While she enjoyed exploring the fashion industry, she realized that a career as a designer was not her ultimate calling. Diane then moved to Romania for a year before returning to Los Angeles. While living in Romania, Diane rescued two street dogs and found adoptive homes for them in Germany, with the help of Romania Animal Rescue, Inc. (“RAR”). It was then that she realized animal rescue would always be a part of her life.
Upon her return to Los Angeles, Diane joined a real estate brokerage and became a realtor and property manager. Shortly thereafter, she enrolled in the evening law program at Loyola Law School (“LLS”). She has since clerked with the Los Angeles County District Attorney and has developed an interest in criminal prosecution.
Diane continues to volunteer with various animal welfare organizations, including: RAR, Doggies911 Rescue, and Karma Rescue. She is Loyola’s Student Animal Legal Defense Fund Vice President, and she organized a speaker panel at the 2014 California Animal Law Symposium on behalf of LLS, with special speakers from RAR and Duo Duo Animal Welfare Project. Diane is also LLS’ Evening Student Bar Association President (2014-2015) and student blogger. Diane helped to organize the inaugural Animal Law Guild Conference in 2014 as the Law Student Coordinator, and she is thrilled and honored to be a part of the program once again.
Law Student Coordinator, Animal Law Guild Conference 2015
Diane Chang received her undergraduate degree from UC San Diego and subsequently moved to Paris, France, to dive into the world of fashion design. While she enjoyed exploring the fashion industry, she realized that a career as a designer was not her ultimate calling. Diane then moved to Romania for a year before returning to Los Angeles. While living in Romania, Diane rescued two street dogs and found adoptive homes for them in Germany, with the help of Romania Animal Rescue, Inc. (“RAR”). It was then that she realized animal rescue would always be a part of her life.
Upon her return to Los Angeles, Diane joined a real estate brokerage and became a realtor and property manager. Shortly thereafter, she enrolled in the evening law program at Loyola Law School (“LLS”). She has since clerked with the Los Angeles County District Attorney and has developed an interest in criminal prosecution.
Diane continues to volunteer with various animal welfare organizations, including: RAR, Doggies911 Rescue, and Karma Rescue. She is Loyola’s Student Animal Legal Defense Fund Vice President, and she organized a speaker panel at the 2014 California Animal Law Symposium on behalf of LLS, with special speakers from RAR and Duo Duo Animal Welfare Project. Diane is also LLS’ Evening Student Bar Association President (2014-2015) and student blogger. Diane helped to organize the inaugural Animal Law Guild Conference in 2014 as the Law Student Coordinator, and she is thrilled and honored to be a part of the program once again.
Christy Schilling, President, The Animal Protectorates-TAPS
Event Coordinator, Animal Law Guild Conference 2015
Christy Schilling is Co-Founder and President of The Animal Protectorates - TAPS and served as Event Coordinator of the Animal Law Guild’s inaugural conference in 2014. Barely out of kindergarten, Christy couldn’t wait to donate her allowance to the Jerry Lewis telethon. The giving has never stopped. With a B.A. in Sociology she worked and volunteered in social welfare including helping pregnant and parenting teens and assisting victims of domestic violence. Through this, her eyes were also opened to the plight of animals in those settings. Christy narrowed her volunteering focus to animals – the voiceless.
Christy has served on the Board of Directors for several non-profit organizations devoted to saving the lives of animals. She is a regular volunteer for mobile adoptions, coordinating fosters and transports (a program to relocate high risk animals from local shelters out of state), was instrumental in starting a “tabling” program (where volunteers try to find solutions for owners prior to them relinquishing their pets to shelters) and is dedicated to NKLA (“No Kill Los Angeles”), an initiative to make Los Angeles a No-Kill City by increasing spay and neuter services, educating the public, and creating unity within the animal welfare community to reduce the euthanasia rates in our shelters. After 15 years in animal welfare volunteerism, co-founding TAPS was a natural progression. She identified that TAPS could work cohesively to highlight cruelty and abuse, and to change inadequate or inappropriate laws through its mission of Teaching, Advocating, Protecting and Supporting. Christy was awarded 2014 Woman of the Year by Congressman Adam Schiff. To Christy, Gandhi’s words enlighten, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”.
Event Coordinator, Animal Law Guild Conference 2015
Christy Schilling is Co-Founder and President of The Animal Protectorates - TAPS and served as Event Coordinator of the Animal Law Guild’s inaugural conference in 2014. Barely out of kindergarten, Christy couldn’t wait to donate her allowance to the Jerry Lewis telethon. The giving has never stopped. With a B.A. in Sociology she worked and volunteered in social welfare including helping pregnant and parenting teens and assisting victims of domestic violence. Through this, her eyes were also opened to the plight of animals in those settings. Christy narrowed her volunteering focus to animals – the voiceless.
Christy has served on the Board of Directors for several non-profit organizations devoted to saving the lives of animals. She is a regular volunteer for mobile adoptions, coordinating fosters and transports (a program to relocate high risk animals from local shelters out of state), was instrumental in starting a “tabling” program (where volunteers try to find solutions for owners prior to them relinquishing their pets to shelters) and is dedicated to NKLA (“No Kill Los Angeles”), an initiative to make Los Angeles a No-Kill City by increasing spay and neuter services, educating the public, and creating unity within the animal welfare community to reduce the euthanasia rates in our shelters. After 15 years in animal welfare volunteerism, co-founding TAPS was a natural progression. She identified that TAPS could work cohesively to highlight cruelty and abuse, and to change inadequate or inappropriate laws through its mission of Teaching, Advocating, Protecting and Supporting. Christy was awarded 2014 Woman of the Year by Congressman Adam Schiff. To Christy, Gandhi’s words enlighten, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”.