The Competition

Dr. Charlotte E. Blattner

University of Bern

Dr. Charlotte E. Blattner is a Senior Lecturer and Researcher at the Institute of Public Law, University of Bern, Switzerland. She specializes in animal law and climate law. She earned her PhD in Law from the University of Basel, Switzerland, and completed postdoctoral fellowships at Queen's University, Canada, and Harvard Law School, Cambridge MA. Her books include Protecting Animals Within and Across Borders (OUP 2019) and Animal Labour: A New Frontier of Interspecies Justice? (OUP 2020, coedited with Will Kymlicka and Kendra Coulter).

Ms. Edie Bowles

Advocates for Animals | Animal Law Foundation

Ms. Edie Bowles is a solicitor and the managing director of Advocates for Animals, the UK's first animal protection law firm. She has advised almost all of the main animal protection organisations, smaller organisations and individuals across all animal protection law and campaigning. She also founded The Animal Law Foundation. She often speaks on animal protection issues and has done so in the UK Parliament, the French Senat and the East African Legislative Assembly.

Ms. Tushti Chopra

Prof. Jessica Eisen

University of Alberta

Prof. Jessica Eisen is an Associate Professor and Associate Dean Graduate Studies at the University of Alberta Faculty of Law. Her research interests include animals and the law, constitutional and comparative constitutional law, equality and antidiscrimination law, feminist legal theory, intergenerational justice, and law and social movements.

Dr. Raffael N. Fasel

Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law | University of Cambridge

Dr. Raffael N. Fasel is Yates Glazebrook Fellow and College Lecturer in Law at Jesus College, Cambridge, and Affiliated Lecturer at the Cambridge Law Faculty. He was previously Fellow in Law at the London School of Economics and was awarded a four-year research grant by the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Prof. David Favre

Michigan State University | Animal Legal Defense Fund

Prof. David Favre has been a professor of law at Michigan State University College of Law for over forty-four years, serving as Dean of the College for five years, and teaching in the area of Property Law, Animal Law, and International Environmental Law. Professor Favre has written a number of articles and books dealing with animal issues including such topics as animal cruelty, wildlife law, animal rights, ethics of animal use, and international control of animal trade.

Dean Kathy Hessler

George Washington University | Animal Legal Education Initiative | Council on Animal Legal Education | Aquatic Animal Law Project | Animal Law & Science Project

Dean Kathy Hessler is the inaugural Assistant Dean for Animal Legal Education at George Washington University Law School (GW Law), and Director of the Animal Legal Education Initiative (ALEI), in a program made possible by generous support from ALDF. At GW Law, Dean Hessler also founded the Council on Animal Legal Education and the Aquatic Animal Law Project. She co-founded and co-directs the Animal Law & Science Project with Dr. Lori Marino.

Dr. Visa A.J. Kurki

Helsinki Animal Law Centre | University of Helsinki | Finnish Legal Philosophy Society | Finnish Society for Animal Rights Law

Dr. Visa A.J. Kurki is a Finnish legal scholar and philosopher, working as Associate Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Helsinki. He is also the Director of the Helsinki Animal Law Centre.

Adv. Zannis Mavrogordato

Twenty Essex

Zannis Mavrogordato is a Barrister, French Avocat and Arbitrator at Twenty Essex in London. He is a specialist in international commercial and investment arbitration, and has acted as Counsel and Arbitrator in international proceedings all around the world but with a particular geographical focus on Central and Eastern Europe.

Adv. Brindha Nandakumar

Supreme Court of India | Karnataka High Court | Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre | Compassion Unlimited Plus Action | Beauty Without Cruelty

Adv. Brindha Nandakumar has conducted cases both in Trial and High Courts, having experience in both civil and criminal cases, including money suits, property matters, company cases, family cases, matrimonial matters, animal and environment cases, consumer protection law and public interest litigations.

Prof. Raphael Pangalangan

Jindal Global Law School | United Nations | International Criminal Court | Association of Southeast Asian Nations | Ocampo & Suralvo Law Offices

Prof. Raphael Pangalangan, the Associate Dean of Jindal Global Law School, specializes in human rights and international law. He represents victims of the Philippine drug war before the UN and ICC as CenterLaw-Philippines' Head for International Accountability, and serves as Special Counsel at OS Law Offices.

Judge Karla Andrade Quevedo

Constitutional Court of Ecuador | Ecuadorian Centre for Environmental Law | Simon Bolivar University | International SEK University | University of San Francisco de Quito

Judge Karla Andrade Quevedo studied Law in Quito's San Francisco University (USFQ). After obtaining a Master and PhD in Constitutional Law from the University of Seville, Spain, she worked both in the public and private sectors and in NGOs.

Barrister Paula Sparks

UK Centre for Animal Law

Barrister Paula Sparks is Chairperson of the UK Centre for Animal Law (A-law). Prior to this she was in practice as a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers. Barrister Sparks has an interest in animal law and regularly lectures and writes on topics around animal law and policy; she was a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Winchester teaching animal law and policy between 2017-2023.

Dr. Angela van der Berg

University of the Western Cape

Dr. Angela van der Berg is the Director of the Global Environmental Law Centre (GELC) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), Faculty of Law in South Africa. She also holds the position of Associate Professor in the Department of Public Law and Jurisprudence where she coordinates and teaches the LLM (masters) Programme in Environmental Law.

Prof. Amanda Whitfort

High Court of Hong Kong SAR | University of Hong Kong

Prof. Amanda Whitfort is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong and a Barrister of the High Court of Hong Kong SAR. She specialises in criminal law, environmental law and animal law. Her research on animal cruelty led to amended laws on animal breeding and a change in policy for the management of feral dogs in Hong Kong.

Ms. Amy P. Wilson

Animal Law Reform South Africa | University of Johannesburg | University of the Western Cape | Harmony with Nature United Nations | Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature: Africa Hub

Ms. Amy P. Wilson is a licensed attorney with over 13 years of professional legal experience, and a researcher focusing on the intersection of the rights of humans, nonhuman animals and Nature in law and policy. She is the co-Founder, Director and former Executive Director of Animal Law Reform South Africa (ALRSA), the first dedicated animal law non-profit in the country.

Ms. Katharina Braun

Free University of Berlin

Ms. Katharina Braun is a PhD candidate at Freie Universität Berlin and a legal trainee at the Higher Regional Court of Berlin. She holds a German law degree (1st state exam) and an LL.M. in Human Rights & Social Justice from the University of Connecticut School of Law. Her areas of interest include international criminal law, animal rights law, and legal theory.

Ms. Veerle Platvoet

University of Helsinki

Ms. Veerle Platvoet is a doctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki. She obtained her LLM in global environmental law and governance and has policy experience in animal welfare. In her research, she aims to connect environmental law and animal law by focusing on animal welfare in conservation law, and how the pluralistic views on animals in the wild impact their legal status.