Taylor Waters

As Pro Bono Manager, Taylor Waters promotes animal law through the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Pro Bono program. Taylor earned a BA from Western Washington University and a J.D. from Michigan State University College of Law, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. Taylor served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Animal and Natural Resource Law while at Michigan State University. She received the Moot Court Oralist champion title and was a Kurth Moot Court Championship competitor. As a Scholar’s day speaker at Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies, Center for Law, Diversity, and Justice: Animal, Taylor’s presentation focused on dogs in Jurisprudence. Taylor also studied Comparative International Law in Bialystok, Poland and received the 2018 Michigan State Bar Association Animal Law Section’s Wanda Nash Award and the 2018 Ohio State Bar Association’s Environmental Law Award.  Before joining the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Taylor was an active member in the organization’s Pro Bono Network. She has been involved with the organization since law school and deeply committed to the mission.

Based in Columbus, Ohio, Taylor shares her home with her spouse Jesse, children Norah and Mark, dogs Bettie and Radar, cats Penelope and Evie, and rescue chickens Rosie, Linda, and Della. Taylor enjoys running, yoga, and spending time with her family. She also attempts to breed Christmas cactuses unsuccessfully and is obsessed with passenger pigeons. Her publication in the Journal of Animal and Natural Resource Law, “Passenger Pigeons: The De-extinction and Reintroduction of a bird,” explores the laws surrounding the reintroduction of previously extinct species.