Alston & Bird has been recognized for its pro bono leadership as a recipient of the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s (ALDF) 2018 Advancement in Animal Law Pro Bono Achievement Award.
Presented to Alston & Bird partner Xavier Brandwajn and senior associate Tim Watson at the ALDF’s Justice for Animals Gala in Los Angeles on September 8, the award recognizes both attorneys for their pro bono work in helping ALDF achieve its mission of protecting the lives and advancing the interests of animals through the legal system.
Brandwajn and Watson were honored for their ongoing representation, in collaboration with the ALDF, of the Caru Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (CSPCA), including their recent success in convincing the California Superior Court of Solano County to issue a preliminary injunction against a California woman accused of running an illegal dog kennel, also known as a “puppy mill,” out of her residential property. The CSPCA brought the action in 2017 to enjoin the woman from breeding or possessing dogs in violation of state law and local ordinances.
Founded in 1979 by attorneys active in shaping the emerging field of animal law, ALDF is supported by attorneys who protect animal interests by filing lawsuits to stop animal abuse and expand the boundaries of animal law, providing free legal assistance to prosecutors handling cruelty cases, working to strengthen state anti-cruelty statutes, and encouraging the federal government to enforce existing animal protection laws, among other efforts.