Why Do Animals Need Lawyers?
Please join us for a unique opportunity to hear Stephen Wells, Executive Director of the Animal Legal Defense Fund and Nicoletta Caferri, Queens District Attorney’s Office, Chief of the Animal Cruelty Prosecutions Unit discuss this fascinating topic.
Registration open: 6:00PM
Lecture: 6:30PM
$25 per guest.
Price includes half hour reception of beer and wine. All reservations are final.
Registration is required.
REGISTER HERE
BIOGRAPHIES
Stephen Wells is the Executive Director of the Animal Legal Defense Fund. The ALDF files high-impact lawsuits to protect animals from harm, provides free legal assistance and training to prosecutors in their fight against animal cruelty, supports animal protection legislation and provides resources and opportunities to law students and professionals to advance the field of animal law.
Mr. Wells founded and served as the director of ALDF’s successful Animal Law Program, which provides support and resources to ALDF’s law professional and law student members and pro bono opportunities for attorneys and firms to assist ALDF with its mission. Steve also created an in-house litigation program which allowed the ALDF to quadruple its caseload. He expanded the Animal Law Program and helped to exponentially expand the student chapters (SALDF) of the Animal Legal Defense Fund from an initial six chapters to the present number of 195 including law schools at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell and has 24 international chapters as well. There were 12 animal law classes offered in the United States and Canada – and now there are more than 140. Under his leadership the pro bono network he created has over 1.2 million in donated services, revenue has risen from 3.7 million to over 12 million and boasts more than 200,000 members and supporters.
Nicoletta Caferri, Queens District Attorney’s Office. Ms. Caferri has been an assistant district attorney since 1987 and works closely with the NYPD’s Animal Cruelty Investigations Squad to investigate and prosecute animal cruelty crimes ranging from animal fighting and animal hoarding to intentional injuring or killing and neglect and abandonment of household pets. She has worked on more than 1000 cases and has argued numerous appeals in NY appellate courts and in federal habeas corpus proceedings and is admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court.
Ms. Caferri is a graduate of the State University of New York College at Oneonta, a 1985 graduate of Brooklyn Law School and is a member of the New York City Bar Association Animal Law Committee.
Founded in 1979, the Animal Legal Defense Fund has blazed the trail for more humane treatment of animals in every corner of American life. It is the legal voice of companion animals, farmed animals, captive animals, wildlife and animals used in research. The ALDF addresses, through litigation, important issues such as animals legal status, puppy mills and Agricultural Gag laws. Their work is accomplished through advocacy, collaboration, criminal justice, legal education, legislation, litigation and regulation.
The ALDF, a 501(c)(3) non-profit meets the highest standards of public accountability, program effectiveness and cost effectiveness: it is a 4-star Charity Navigator rated non-profit, a Platinum Level Guidestar Exchange participant, a Better Business Bureau Accredited Charity and has been award the Independent Charities Seal of Excellence.
Not a member yet? Contact membership@columbiaclub.org or complete your application today.