Spotlight: Mason Liddell

Mason Liddell is a 2023 recipient of the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Advancement in Animal Law Scholarship.

This award honors students who demonstrate a commitment to the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s mission: “to advance the interests and protect the lives of animals through the legal system.” Recipients are actively involved in their Animal Legal Defense Fund Student Chapter while in law school and show promise in the field after graduation.

Mason Liddell is a rising 2L at the University of Colorado Law School. He is the founder and president of Colorado Law’s Animal Legal Defense Fund Student Chapter. This summer, he is interning with the Northwest Animal Rights Network and working on their wildlife campaign. Mason’s interest in animal law comes from his life-long love of animals and studying normative ethics as a part of his undergraduate degree.

What Animal Legal Defense Fund Student Chapter activities are you proudest of and why?
The event that I’m proudest of is probably our notice and comment event on a proposed rule from the Fish and Wildlife Service regarding the Endangered Species Act. I think there are two main reasons I’m particularly proud of it. The first reason is that it’s something I put a lot of time into (along with two other students, Aidan Bodeo-Lomicky and Haley Maher, at Colorado Law!). It’s nice to see something like that go out into the real world. The other reason is that it perfectly aligns with our primary goal as a chapter. When we founded this chapter in the fall of 2022, the executive board all agreed that our highest priority is to create actual legal change. This comment that we wrote represents our first time really living up to the goal we set when we founded this chapter. To keep achieving that goal, we’re hoping that our chapter and its members will keep writing comments and giving testimony regularly into the future.

Any other noteworthy experience?
At the risk of sounding a little sarcastic, probably the most noteworthy experience of our chapter this year was its founding. Colorado Law had an Animal Legal Defense Fund Student Chapter until a couple of years ago but, unfortunately, it didn’t last through the pandemic. Even though I wasn’t originally planning to revive this chapter when I started law school, I’m really glad that I did. There have been a lot of students, professors, and administrators at CU who have been unbelievably helpful and supportive. So, I want to share my gratitude for everyone who has helped this club in the first year of its existence.

What is an animal law related goal of yours for the upcoming academic year?
Personally, my top goal is bringing more institutional representation of animal law to Colorado Law. Our school hasn’t offered an animal law course in years. So, we’ve been working to change that. Over the last academic year, we’ve been lucky enough to find traction with wildlife law. Thanks to an interested group of students and some extremely supportive faculty members, that class will be offered this upcoming year. Now, I want to keep pushing for other classes. Specifically, my next goal is to advocate for an animal rights survey class. Of course, things are always a bit in flux. But I’m hopeful that, if all goes well, we can offer the course in the 2024-2025 academic year.

What are your plans/goals for post-graduation?
The honest answer is that I’m not sure. I have some vague, abstract goals. Generally, I want to work in the world of wildlife and conservation. In the long term, I’d love to teach at some point in my life. In the short term, it’s a little messier. That said, I’m happy to take opportunities as I find them. I’m planning to apply for judicial clerkships, professional fellowships, and anything else that catches my interest. There are a lot of fascinating things that I’d love to get involved with, so I don’t feel much of a need to narrow my scope at this point.

What is one piece of advice that you would like to pass on to other Animal Legal Defense Fund Student Chapter leaders?
The best advice I can give to people is to just try things. I know that this advice can be a little cliché, but it really reflects my experience over the last year. A lot of my favorite memories and biggest successes, personally and as president of our chapter, came from sending an email to an absolute stranger and hoping they sent something back. Oftentimes, things fell apart or I didn’t receive a response. It can create a lot of stress and uncertainty. But this work is important and we’re all on the same team. So, it’ll be ok. The folks you reach out to almost certainly want to help you as best they can. With enough persistence, you can eventually find a speaker for an event, someone to sponsor pro bono work for other law students, or a school administrator who’s willing to help you advocate for animal law classes. It may not turn out quite the way you wanted or expected, but then just make the best of what you have and try again.

Learn more about the other 2023 Advancement in Animal Law Scholarship winners.