Impact

Since inception, ADP has provided services to 470 animal protection organizations and saved the movement over $9.7 million.

Clients Served in 2024:

Total
Organizations: 161

Total Dollar
Amount Saved: $2,147,006

Total Billable
Hours Donated: 5,150

Legal Education Provided in 2024:

Course
Sessions: 21

Total
Participants: 260

Organizations
Represented: 142

Testimonials

"ADP is an indispensable resource for us for pretty much all our internal and external operations and contracts."

Lauren Mee; Co-founder & CEO, Animal Advocacy Careers
"Every time we turn to ADP for help, we have to pinch ourselves just to be sure that this incredible resource really exists for nonprofits in the animal protection world. In a relatively short period of time, we've already received support with board governance, bylaws, compliance, insurance, and contracts. We've saved thousands of dollars in legal fees, countless hours trying to Google our way to the right information, and all the anxiety that comes from worrying that there's something important we might be missing. I have worked with many corporate attorneys in my life, and even the most experienced and expensive lawyers pale in comparison to ADP's speed, consistency, and genuine eagerness to help. Everyone we've met at ADP is so knowledgeable, responsive, clear, down to earth, funny, and passionate about their work. Animals and the people who fight for them are so lucky that ADP is on our side."

Tania Luna; Co-founder, Scarlet Spark
"Offering pro bono legal counsel to animal advocates is a generous and ingenious way of advancing the cause of animal rights. David, Joel, Mary and Allan, and the whole team at Animal Defense Partnership are providing an invaluable and unique service. Additionally, this is quite simply a team of warm, energetic, and kind people who are a pleasure to work with. We Animals Media feels indebted to ADP for their support and friendship."

Jo-Anne McArthur; Photographer, Founder of We Animals Media
"Mercy For Animals is very grateful to The Animal Defense Partnership. David and the rest of the team at ADP are able to draw on decades of experience and resources that are not available to most charities. The animal protection movement is fortunate to have this enthusiastic and collaborative partner!"

John Seber; Deputy Counsel & Vice, President of Legal Affairs, Mercy for Animals
“We feel incredibly blessed to work with Animal Defense Partnership, which has been providing fast and accurate support to In Defense of Animals for years, across a whole range of subjects. ADP's knowledge and legal expertise has been invaluable in ensuring the effectiveness of our advocacy for elephants in zoos through to dogs used for meat -- and every animal issue in between. That's in addition to advice on nonprofit management. ADP has always been there for us since they started and their support is an essential part of our successful work for animals. Quite simply, animal liberation would be a lot further off if it weren't for ADP!”

Fleur Dawes; Communications Director, In Defense of Animals
“Animal Defense Partnership has been instrumental in further professionalizing and protecting Woodstock Farm Sanctuary over the last few years. Their legal counsel provides guidance that we would never be able to retain with our budget which has allowed us to focus our time and resources on our mission of saving farmed animals. I've always dreamt of a resource like ADP for the animal rights movement and we are so grateful to them!"

Rachel McCrystal; Executive Director, Woodstock Farm Sanctuary
"We love ADP and the fact that they provide such a unique and necessary service to our nonprofit community! As a brand new organization, ADP was essential to the process of incorporating SEED and applying for our federal tax exemption. David and his experienced team are highly knowledgeable, supportive, and easy to reach - we are beyond grateful and would recommend ADP to any animal protection charity looking for trustworthy legal advice."

Cailen LaBarge; Co-founder, Strategies for Ethical and Environmental Development (SEED)
"Compassion in World Farming is so grateful for the free services offered by Animal Defense Partnership. Usually, when you’re not paying for such a service, you expect it to take longer and be less thorough—but that hasn’t been our experience working with ADP at all. Anjali and the team get back to us straight away with great advice on everything ranging from contracts, Covid, and confidential staffing issues. Their legal expertise and knowledge of our sector, in particular, make a unique contribution to our mission. Thank you, ADP."

Ben Williamson; U.S. Director, Compassion in World Farming
"It is so important to have friends you can count on and trust in a pinch and that is exactly how we view David, Joel, Lesley, and their colleagues at Animal Defense Partnership. Our most recent request of them demonstrates this perfectly - after months of planning a campaign, one of the food businesses included in it threw us a legal curveball literally mere hours before launch. A whole 19 minutes after I emailed David (before working hours) he and Lesley responded with reassurance and the offer to meet immediately. They quickly assessed the situation, reviewed documents, and provided us with the added confidence to move forward, pressing on for animals’ benefit. We could not recommend or appreciate ADP more."

Maral Cavner, Esq.; Corporate Outreach Manager (United States), Animal Equality
“Animal Defense Partnership has been an indispensable resource for me through so many phases of my career. Several years ago, they secured pro bono counsel to assist with the nonprofit filing for an animal sanctuary I am associated with. More recently, during my time at a national animal protection organization, they provided summer interns to support the development of litigation ideas and countless connections to pro bono attorneys for various general counsel issues. Most recently, the Animal Defense Partnership has provided, and continues to provide, invaluable support in starting a new nonprofit organization focused on animal advocacy. Starting a new organization is so much less daunting when you know you have ADP in your corner. Every interaction with ADP staff and interns has been positive, welcoming, and rewarding. ADP’s work amplifies the work of so many animal-focused organizations and they do it all behind the scenes, far from the spotlight, and with skill and grace. Their work has become a critical thread in the fabric of the whole animal protection movement."

Will Lowrey; Legal Counsel, Animal Partisan
"The Animal Defense Partnership is an absolute gift to animals. David and his team provide insightful, straightforward, and reassuring legal advice that has helped Veganuary cut through red tape and move forward quickly on major, high-impact projects. Our campaign, and the movement, are stronger because of their guidance.”

Wendy Matthews; Director, US, Veganuary
"We are so appreciative of your support of ACE with our legal questions. We especially appreciate all the due diligence you put in, allowing us to feel confident in making important decisions. It's a huge help to us and we are grateful to be able to save costs on legal fees so that we can instead use our funds towards our programs."

Leah Edgerton; Executive Director, Animal Charity Evaluators
"It's been incredibly helpful for Brighter Green to work with ADP. David, Joel, Judith, Allan, and their colleagues are skilled, thoughtful, and responsive. They're also extremely easy to work with: they're great listeners and excellent problem-solvers, and they really care about animals and the organizations working to protect them. Plus, the speed with which they provide answers, advice, text, and resources is astonishing. We're very grateful to have ADP as part of our community, and their counsel has become invaluable."

Mia MacDonald; Executive Director, Brighter Green
“I wanted to send along a brief update regarding Friends of Chimps. The board of directors had a number of legal questions to address in 2017, including the transfer of funds to our partner in Uganda, IRS compliance, an MOU with Chimpanzee Trust, and state charity registrations. Despite our modest budget, these were vital issues for compliance and the longterm sustainability of our organization. We expected that these matters would require us to divert funds from programs that support rescued chimpanzees at Ngamba Island Sanctuary and field programs for wild chimpanzees and their habitats in Uganda. Through partnership and pro bono legal representation through ADP, we were able to sustain funding for chimpanzee programs AND pursue important legal matters. ADP's mission and good work have played a valuable role in supporting Friends of Chimps this year. On behalf of the board, I extend our sincere gratitude and appreciation. We look forward to continued partnership."

Debra Durham, Ph.D; Director of Behavior and Research, Friends of Chimps