Animal Law Section leaders plan first CLE seminars

The new ISBA Animal Law Section Council will present its first Law Ed seminar from 1 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 4, in the Chicago Regional Office.

Titled “Hot Topics in Animal Law,” the seminar covers a wide range of topics related to practice areas such as family law, trusts and estates, personal injury, and municipal ordinances.

“Animal law is a growing field that touches on all facets of the legal profession,” said section council chair Amy A. Breyer of Chicago. “It covers all types of animals, ranging from companion to wildlife, entertainment, research and farming.”

Also a member of the Agricultural Law Section Council, Breyer is coordinator and moderator for the seminar. It begins appropriately with the legislative overview, “No Sausage Here: Making Animal Laws in Illinois.”

The speaker is State Sen. Donald F. Harmon of Oak Park, a Chicago attorney. He will review the legislative process and various bills that relate to animal law.

At 2:15 p.m., the topic is family law oriented: “Take the House but the Dog Is Mine: Anecdotal “Tails’ About Pet Custody Issues in Divorce.”

Angela E. Peters of the Buffalo Grove Law Offices, Arlington Heights, will update the growing recognition in courts that parties in a marriage dissolution don’t always view a family pet in the same way as the rest of their possessions, despite what the law may say.

Peters, an ISBA Assembly member, serves on the Family Law Section Council and the Committee on Bar Services and Activities.

At 2:45 p.m., the program changes focus to enforceable pet trusts and how they can provide some peace of mind to “companion humans.”

The speaker for “Don’t Have Faith, Have a Trust: Estate Planning for Companion Animals” is Linscott R. Hanson of DiMonte & Lizak of Park Ridge, a section council member who devised one of the first animal trust documents and in 2003 suggested the enabling legislation.

At 3:30 p.m., the purviews of local government are explored in “Who’s the Real Danger Here? Navigating Through Chicago’s Troublesome Dangerous Dog Ordinance.”

The speakers are Anna Morrison-Ricordati of the AMR Law Group, Chicago, and Jamie L. D’Amato, a certified dog trainer with Animal Sense of Chicago.

Their remarks include procedural and substantive challenges in dangerous dog hearings, gathering behavioral evidence to evaluate and defend claims, and dealing with a client whose dog is sentenced to euthanasia.

The seminar concludes with the 4:30 p.m. ethics discussion, “It’s Okay if Your Client Is a Real Animal. You? Not so Much,” by Eugene F. Friedman of Friedman & Friedman, Chicago, a member of the Committee on Professional Conduct.

His presentation ranges from specific animal law concerns to general practice tips for avoiding common ethical pitfalls.

An ISBA Assembly member, Friedman also serves on the Federal Civil Practice and Business Advice and Financial Planning Section Councils, and is past chair of the Intellectual Property Section Council.

The Animal Law Section was preceded a year ago by formation of a Special Committee on Animal Law. According to Breyer, 13 other state bar associations and nine regional bar groups have similar committees or sections. More than half of accredited law schools have related courses.

The ISBA section council plans to provide a forum in which members can discuss, learn about, and even develop animal law, Breyer said. This seminar is its inaugural opportunity.

A similar seminar will be conducted from 1 to 5:30p.m. Friday, June 12, at the Pere Marquette Lodge and Conference Center in Grafton. The emphasis will be more on equine care, livestock management and wildlife.

For more information about section activities, contact Amy Breyer at breyer@animallawonline.net. The section council vice chair is assistant Madison County state’s attorney Amy Maher of Edwardsville.

Other members are Frank W. Jaffe, Anna E. Morrison-Ricordati and Willis R. Tribler of Chicago; Angela P. Donohoo of Bethalto, A. Bryan Endres and Judge Michael P. McCuskey of Urbana, Timothy A. Gutknecht of Columbia, Linscott R. Hanson of Park Ridge, Melissa A. Maye of Ottawa, and Elise A. VanKavage of Collinsville.