Spotlight: Mei Brunson

Mei Brunson 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.

Mei is a rising 2L at Lewis & Clark Law School. Mei spent her 1L at Brooklyn Law School in New York City, independently enriching the generalized 1L curriculum by attending animal law conferences, acting as a 1L Delegate for the Brooklyn Law Animal Legal Defense Fund Student Chapter, volunteering at Woodstock Farm Sanctuary, and participating in the ABA International Animal Law Subcommittee.

What Animal Legal Defense Fund Student Chapter activities are you proudest of and why?
This year, the Brooklyn Law Student Chapter joined forces with chapters at Cardozo, Columbia, NYU, Hofstra University, and Pace University to form an NYC-wide Student Chapter coalition. This collaboration culminated in a co-organized animal law career panel at the beginning of the spring semester, featuring speakers from the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Animal Partisan, Earthjustice, and Richman Law & Policy. Through the formation of this city-wide coalition, our various student chapters have been able to cross-promote each other’s separate activities, and I am hopeful that the coalition will collaborate on co-hosting future animal law events.

What is an animal law related goal of yours for the upcoming academic year?
After spending my 1L immersed in generalized and prescribed coursework, I am very much looking forward to developing my legal research and writing skills as they relate to animal law. Over the summer, I am honored to gain experience in farmed animal law and litigation as a legal intern with Farm Sanctuary. I am additionally planning to join the Animal Law Review at Lewis & Clark and engage more with animal law scholarship. Though perhaps not as early as next year, I would love to present at an Animal Law Conference at some point before I graduate.

What are your plans/goals for post-graduation?
I am interested in practicing animal law while remaining attentive to connected environmental and human rights issues. Thus, I aspire to not only gain experience in animal law during law school, but also endeavor to develop my knowledge in environmental, labor, and immigration law, which play integral roles in our food systems. After graduation, I aspire to gain civil litigation experience within an animal law-oriented nonprofit or boutique law firm that embodies a broader social justice-consciousness in its work. I am drawn to the immense creativity, research, and strategy required for civil litigation in order to circumvent the lack of animal protection laws. I would also be interested in pursuing a clinical or policy fellowship in an academic setting. However, I remain open-minded to how the next two years of law school will shape my path forward in animal law.

What is one piece of advice that you would like to pass on to other Animal Legal Defense Fund Student Chapter leaders?
The community and support that a student chapter can provide for students interested in animal law is invaluable. While I found 1L to be just as grueling as every other student, for me, connecting with others passionate about animal law was crucial to my pushing through. While organizing career panels and networking events are extremely valuable, I think devoting energy to cultivating a supportive inner community is equally important to a student chapter’s success.

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