Last weekend’s graduation ceremony marked an exciting milestone for VLGS students who can now spread their wings to join the thousands of swans who are using their legal education to help change the world.
In addition to earning their degrees, Morgan Zielinski (JD’23) and Bailey Soderberg (JD/MELP’23) both earned Concentrations in Animal Law, exemplifying their proficiency in the field and dedication to advancing protections for animals.
During her law school career, Morgan enrolled in a number of animal law courses, including serving as a clinician in the Farmed Animal Advocacy Clinic. During the Animals and the Law class, she wrote Freezing Out Bad Actors: Proposing Additional Financial Sanctions to Fight Wildlife Trafficking. She also participated in the revived National Animal Law Competitions. Morgan and her partner advanced to the final round of the appellate competition, ultimately earning second place and were awarded Best Brief.
Bailey Soderberg has also demonstrated her passion and commitment to animal law scholarship and advocacy during her time at VLGS. After being selected to serve on the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law (VJEL), her note, Reassessing Animals and Potential Legal Personhood: Do Animals Have Rights or Duties?, won the VJEL notes competition and has been published. In the Animals and the Law class, Bailey wrote Sealing the Deal: Continuing Protections for Cape Cod’s Seal Population Post-MMPA, which earned an award from the New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Animals and the Law’s Student Writing Competition. Through the Animal Law Practicum, Bailey’s project focused on opposing the deregulation of slaughter on behalf of numerous organizations in collaboration with the American Bar Association’s Animal Law Committee.
Last summer, Bailey was selected for the Tommy Raskin Summer Legal Internship with Mercy For Animals. In this position she continued to demonstrate an extremely strong work ethic, self-awareness, drive, and dedication to excellent research and writing. She served as the co-chair of the Animal Law Society, participated in the Animal Law Student Networking event at NYU, and served as an Advanced Clinician for the Farmed Animal Advocacy Clinic.
Our pride extends to the first graduates who participated in the Farmed Animal Advocacy Clinic. Morgan Muenster, Morgan Zielinski, Colleen McGrath, Bailey Soderberg, and Talon Wendel all contributed signifcantly to projects such as fighting the expansion of factory farm gas facilities, drafting proposed amendments to the Farm Bill, and advocating for the inclusion of industrial animal agriculture under Clean Air Act regulations.
We wish them all the best as they take flight on their career paths, and look forward to seeing them use their legal advocacy skills to help change the world for animals.