What is the Animal Law & Policy Clinic?
The Animal Law & Policy Clinic provides students the opportunity to advance the interests of wild, farmed, and captive animals through litigation, administrative rulemaking, policy initiatives, organizing, and other legal advocacy avenues. You will gain direct experience with a broad range of federal and state laws—such as the Endangered Species Act, the Animal Welfare Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act—and develop critically important strategic thinking and analytical skills. You will have significant responsibility over your projects, and will learn best practices of case management, including how to juggle multiple projects and how to work with co-counsel.
How do I register?
The Animal Law & Policy Clinic is offered in the Fall and Spring semesters. You can learn about the required clinical course component and clinical credits, in the Course Catalog.
Sample Schedule:
Student clinicians may, but are not required to, work at the ALPC office space on campus. Each project will be assigned at least two students. Student teams typically meet with their supervisor every 1-2 weeks, depending on the needs of the project/case. Here are sample weeks at the ALPC:
| Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 |
| – Draft Factual Background Section of Endangered Species Act case complaint; identify questions for client – Draft agenda for client meeting – Meet with supervisor to prepare for client meeting – Lead client meeting to gather information for complaint that will be filed in federal court | – Clinical staff meeting over lunch – Review briefing documents in Tule elk case and prepare questions for moot – Serve as judge for moot with elk case litigator | – Assess likelihood of success of novel claim against slaughterhouse under federal law and draft recommendation for client – Interview potential standing declarant for roadside zoo case |
Meet the Instructors
Mary Hollingsworth
Visiting Clinical Professor and Director
Mary Hollingsworth, Visiting Clinical Professor and Clinical Director of Harvard Law School’s Animal Law & Policy Clinic was formerly a senior trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, Wildlife and Marine Resources Section, where she has worked since 2011. She has more than a decade of experience litigating cases arising under the Endangered Species Act in federal courts across the country.
She received a B.A. in Political Science and Russian & East European Studies from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from the University of Arizona College of Law. After law school, she clerked for Justice Michael Ryan of the Arizona Supreme Court and Judge Murray Snow of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona before joining the U.S. Department of Justice through the Honors Program.
In the News
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Harvard Law Clinic and Wildlife Advocates Call on Massachusetts Pesticide Board to End Use of Toxic Rodenticides
April 10, 2026
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Harvard Law School Clinics Submit Petition to USDA on Behalf of Jains Urging Rulemaking on School Lunch Accommodations for Religious Diets
June 24, 2025 A coalition of over 35 Jain organizations including JAINA, YJA and Jain Centers across the United States — led by Harvard Law School’s Animal Law & Policy Clinic and Religious Freedom Clinic—has submitted a petition for rulemaking to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food & Nutrition Service. The petition advocates for
June 24, 2025
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State Authorities Vote to Undertake Scientific Review of Rodenticides but Fail to Take Immediate Action to Protect Wildlife and Companion Animals
The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) has agreed to undertake a scientific review of anticoagulant rodenticide products in response to a petition submitted by Harvard’s Animal Law & Policy Clinic on behalf of a coalition of Massachusetts residents. The Petition called on MDAR’s Pesticide Subcommittee to immediately suspend anticoagulant rodenticide product registration and undertake
January 28, 2025
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Boston’s Rat Debate: A Call for Humane Solutions
Harvard’s Animal Law & Policy Clinic takes a seat at the table as Boston balances rodent control with the urgent need to protect wildlife from poisoning
October 10, 2024
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HLS Animal Law & Policy Clinic Files Brief In Support of Reversal of USFWS’s Decision to Reduce Beetle’s Protections
August 8, 2024