Chris Richardson Helps Lay Foundation for Animal Advocacy

On April 17, Chris Richardson spoke with Memphis Law Animal Advocacy about lobbying a bill. Prior to law school, Chris gained experience as a lobbyist at a Nashville firm. Animal Advocacy Secretary Amber Sauber took notes of Chris's talk which will be published shortly. Chris provided an introduction to lobbying, the basic approach to communicating support of a bill, and the environment of lobbying. Here are some photos of his visit and the first group photo of Memphis Law Animal Advocacy.

In Photo:

From Left to Right

Kathryn DeRossitt, President

Monica Rejaei, Treasurer

Michelle Johnson Spears

Courtney Copeland Black

Carson Carlisle

Amanda Ray

Amber Sauber, Secretary

Sharon Fornter, Vice President

Matt Gulotta

Lauren Armstrong

Erin Kubisiak, Vice President

Roger Scruggs

Not Pictured: Michelle Bliss, Jera Bradshaw, Caroline Caldwell, Anne Besh Davis, Sarah Hill, Sarah Turner, Amanda Waters 

Congratulations to Chris Richardson on an excellent year as Moot Court Chief Justice and on your graduation. Congratulations also to graduating 3L and Animal Advocacy Secretary Amber Sauber on your upcoming graduation and you will be missed as our secretary next year. We were glad to have you while we did. Congratulations to ALL the 1L members for being near the finish of your first year! Congratulations to the following members who were elected to leadership positions in other organizations for the '08-'09 year! Amanda Ray was elected to Vice President of UM's chapter of the Black Law Student Association. Courtney Copeland Black was elected as president of UM's chapter of the Association of Women Attorneys and Michelle Johnson Spears was elected secretary of this same group. Jera Bradshaw was appointed to the Editorial Board of Law Review and Michelle Bliss was elected to the Moot Court Board and chosen president of Outlaw.

3L Chris Richardson to Speak to Group

At noon on April 17, in the Faculty Conference Room 244, 3L and Moot Court Chief Justice Chris Richardson will speak to the members of Memphis Law Animal Advocacy about his experience as a lobbyist and provide the group with pointers on advocating a bill to legislators.

This will be valuable for members of MLAA because next year a bill will be introduced to restrict puppy mills in the state of Tennessee. Richardson's talk will introduce concepts of best lobbying practices and help the group formulate its strategy for publicly supporting this bill and communicating this support to Nashville.

Lunch from Garibaldi's has been donated.

To Join Memphis Law Animal Advocacy

To join this group, please send an email to memphisadvocacy@gmail.com. The officers are listed below. Feel free to contact any of them for questions about the group.

Next Member Meeting

Memphis Law Animal Advocacy's next meeting is Tuesday April 8th at noon in room 257.

I'm excited about this meeting because I have been thinking of alot of ideas, alot of possible directions, alot of possible ways of formatting our group and I want our officers' and members' opinions on them. I am excited to hear your feedback and any ideas you have for animal advocacy.

OPRAH is covering puppy mills on Friday April 4! I am very curious to see what effect, if any, this show has on public perception and ultimately legislation!

Also, the Memphis Animal Shelter has a new Director! Will anything change?

Posts will improve and change soon. But first, I want to get the input from the group on some questions I have about the website. As president, you will learn from me that I am always looking for input and best ways to accomplish things - TELL ME.

Can't wait till the next meeting. When I see the officers just in passing, they make comments that show their eagerness to work on this. I'm looking forward to working with them!