Professor Kathy Hessler Receives National Animal Law Award

Animal Law Clinic Director and Animal Law Professor, Kathy Hessler, received the Association of American Law School’s (AALS) Excellence in Animal Law: Scholarship, Teaching, and Service Award for 2020. 

The purpose of the award is to recognize the contributions of law teachers in teaching, scholarship, advocacy, and service on behalf of animals. Anyone who has taught at an AALS accredited law school as a full-time or adjunct professor may submit a nomination for consideration by the Committee. The Executive Committee for the AALS Section on Animal Law then chooses the award winner from the pool of nominations received. 

Hessler began teaching at Lewis & Clark in 2008 and is the Director of the Animal Law Clinic and the Aquatic Animal Law Initiative. She is the faculty advisor for the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund and Animal Law Review at Lewis & Clark. She also helped found the Animal Law Section and the Balance in Legal Education Section of AALS, as well as, being a board member of the Animal Legal Defense Fund. She has written numerous law review and other articles and teaches and lectures widely across the U.S. and internationally.

“Kathy Hessler is an integral part of the Animal Law Program at Lewis & Clark and was the first faculty hired full-time to teach animal law at any law school. We are proud to see her recognized for her passion in animal law and support she shows her students,” stated Dean Jennifer Johnson. 

Previous recipients of the award include Associate Dean of the Animal Law Program at Lewis & Clark Law School, Pamela Frasch, who was the inaugural recipient of the award in 2016.