Meet the PETA Foundation’s Legal Team

Meet the esteemed group of attorneys behind the PETA Foundation’s Legal and Corporate Affairs Department. This passionate team led by seasoned legal experts operates across multiple divisions of animal law, united by an unwavering commitment to animal rights.

As general counsel to PETA and international PETA entities for over 27 years, Jeff Kerr built and leads the world’s largest legal team working for animal rights. Under his leadership, the PETA Foundation team was named Corporate Counsel magazine’s 2017 Best Legal Department, and his high-profile cases have made headlines around the world and sparked a global conversation about the legal rights of animals. 

Through a series of recent precedent-setting Endangered Species Act lawsuits, the PETA Foundation’s legal team decimated the big-cat cub-petting industry by ending the separation of cubs from their mothers, prohibiting declawing, and requiring proper care and housing for big cats. In 2011, he led the legal team in the landmark case Tilikum v. SeaWorld, which sought the release—under the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution—of five wild-caught orcas enslaved by SeaWorld. It was the first-ever lawsuit seeking constitutional rights for animals. In 2015, he led the groundbreaking case Naruto v. Slater et al., which sought copyright ownership of the famous “monkey selfie” for the macaque who took the photo. This was the first case in legal history asking that an animal be declared the owner of property (the copyright) rather than being considered a piece of property. His team has also succeeded in having several “ag-gag” laws declared unconstitutional. 

Jeff’s team helped PETA obtain the first cruelty-to-animals convictions of factory-farm employees for abusing pigs and birds, the first U.S. and international crush-video convictions (including a life sentence), the first British case upholding the right to show eyewitness footage of animal abuse, the first Australian case upholding the right to call for a product boycott against animal-abusive practices, the first state supreme court decision recognizing the right to gather and publicize eyewitness animal-abuse video footage, and the largest seizure of animals in U.S. history. 

Jeff also established and serves as general counsel for all PETA entities—in Australia, France, Germany, Switzerland, Asia India, the Netherlands, and the U.K. He has helped defeat politically motivated attacks on PETA’s ability to speak out on behalf of animals, including thwarting three U.S. congressional inquiries—supported by industries that exploit animals—that attempted to revoke PETA’s tax-exempt status and guiding PETA and the PETA Foundation through a 20-month politically motivated IRS audit. 

Jeff graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law, which in 2018 recognized his body of public service work with the prestigious Shaping Justice Award for Extraordinary Achievement. He completed his undergraduate studies at George Mason University, where he was a Weber Scholar. He has 35 years of litigation experience with corporate and exempt organizations and has lectured about animal law at law schools across the country. His legal career has been profiled in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Times, Time magazine, InsideCounsel magazine, and Corporate Counsel magazine, among scores of other national and international media outlets. He served on the board of directors of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia for 10 years (as president for the last two), chairing its policy and legal committees. 

Lori Kettler leads a team of attorneys that focuses on protections for animals used in laboratories and access to public records. She also leads PETA’s initiative to promote greater understanding and empathy for reptiles at public and government agencies and serves as counsel to PETA Science Consortium International e.V., which addresses regulatory testing in the U.K. and the European Union.

Recently, her team has used their decades of collective experience to assist PETA’s Laboratory Investigations Department in successfully exposing a decrepit animal testing facility in Colombia and ensuring that all the animals there were removed and taken to safety, securing access to records about lethal taxpayer-funded experiments on sparrows at Louisiana State University, and ending the U.S. military’s mutilation of wild-caught reptiles in training exercises.

The team’s current initiatives include a groundbreaking legal challenge to the National Institutes of Health’s funding of useless and cruel sepsis experiments, petitions to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to provide two species of endangered monkeys commonly exploited by experimenters with protections under the Endangered Species Act, and a unique petition asking a judge to issue a criminal complaint against a federally funded national primate research center for the severe neglect of two monkeys imprisoned at the facility.

Lori received her law degree from Vermont Law School and studied political science at James Madison University. She joined the PETA Foundation’s legal department in 2000. She lives in Burlington, Vermont, where she shares her home with her rescued dog, two rescued cats, and two rescued geckos; serves on the advisory board of a state wildlife advocacy and anti-trapping organization; and is active in local government initiatives to improve the lives of Burlington’s nonhuman residents.

As deputy general counsel, Elisabeth Custalow’s legal advocacy focuses on animals used in experimentation and the criminal abuse of animals. Prior to joining the PETA Foundation, she worked as a prosecutor, handling the gamut of offenses, including cruelty to animals. She received her B.A. from The College of William and Mary and her law degree from the University of Virginia.

Elisabeth lives in Charles City, Virginia, with her partner, a licensed veterinary technician; dog, Kimber, whose snoring is commonly heard during conference calls; cats, Elinor and Marianne; horses, Emma and Breezy; and, at any given time, a foster or fospice dog. In her free time, she is involved in all aspects of dog rescue.

As senior counsel, Regina Lazarus works closely with PETA’s Laboratory Investigation Department and on issues related to reptiles.

Before joining the PETA Foundation, Regina spent nearly two decades as a professional liability insurance underwriter. She earned her B.A. in philosophy and sociology and J.D. from Rutgers University and her M.S. in insurance management from Boston University. She is the author of “The Beef With Slaughtering the Slaughterhouse Inspector”—a note published in the Rutgers University Law Review—and is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association.

Regina lives in northern New Jersey with her two canine “attorneys-at-paw,” Buddy and Baby (who are often caught snoozing on the job), and her husband.

As senior counsel, Mary Maerz works closely with PETA to advise on issues related to consumer protection and humane washing, investigations, unregulated horse racing, and demonstrations. She also works on a variety of other matters, including regulatory advocacy and litigation.

Before joining the PETA Foundation, Mary served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable M. Douglas Harpool of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. She received her J.D. from the University of Virginia. She also holds a B.A. in biology and philosophy from Drury University.

Mary lives in Portland, Oregon, with her feline companions, Thomas and Fred.

As counsel, Ashely Monti works closely with other attorneys to provide advice and assistance on a wide range of legal issues that arise from PETA’s work to protect animals.

Before joining the PETA Foundation, Ashely served as a judicial law clerk for the chief justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. She received her J.D. and Master of Food and Agriculture Law and Policy from Vermont Law and Graduate School. She has published work through the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law and Graduate School and in the Vermont Law Review on issues related to food labeling and drugs given to animals used for food. She also holds bachelor’s degrees in political science and environmental science from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.

Ashely lives in Portland, Maine, with her husband and her canine companion, Jago.

Ricardo Díaz-Alarcón is a legal fellow and works closely with other attorneys, providing advice and assistance on a wide range of legal issues that arise from PETA’s work to protect animals. He received an LL.M. from Harvard Law School and an LL.B. cum laude from Los Andes University in Bogotá, Colombia. At Harvard, he was a clinician in the Animal Law & Policy Clinic and a member of the Animal Law Society. He received a Public Interest Fellowship from Harvard Law School to work for one year at Animal Outlook, providing legal assistance on issues related to the raising, transportation, and slaughter of farmed animals. He also spent two years as a legal and policy adviser for the city council in Bogotá, where he worked on legal reforms pertaining to the use of animals in entertainment, the companion animal trade, and the transportation of farmed animals.

Bella O’Connor received her J.D. from Vermont Law and Graduate School, where she served as an environmental mission scholar and completed her formal concentration in animal law. While in law school, she worked on a wide variety of animal and environmental issues with the school’s Farmed Animal Advocacy Clinic and during her time with Animal Partisan and Food & Water Watch. She also holds a B.A. in peace studies from Wellesley College and previously worked as the state affairs intern with the Massachusetts Humane Society. She is deeply passionate about creating a food system that protects and honors the inherent dignity of all animals and farm workers while safeguarding the precious natural resources we share.

Bella lives in South Royalton, Vermont, with her rescued fish companion, Dr. Pepper.

Corporate Legal Affairs Division

Corey S. Mishler manages the Corporate Legal Affairs division of the PETA Foundation’s Legal department, including by supervising the legal staff and providing legal advice on a wide range of corporate, administrative, publication, intellectual property, employment, and animal protection issues, among others, that arise during the work of PETA and other PETA entities.

The Corporate Legal Affairs division most recently helped revise PETA President Ingrid Newkirk’s unique will and directions for the disposition of her remains, successfully shut down a website and social media accounts that were using PETA’s name to mislead the public about their relationship to the organization, and helped PETA comply with legal obligations related to the provision of veterinary services to clinics in Ashland, Virginia, and Puerto Rico. The division also reviews, revises, and drafts hundreds of contracts each year; defends PETA and other PETA entities against frivolous complaints filed on social media platforms like YouTube; advises on the fair use of intellectual property; helps secure bequests, devises, and other planned gifts as intended by members and supporters of PETA and other PETA entities; assists with corporate governance; and provides these organizations with additional legal services in order to help them further their missions to achieve the recognition and protection of all animals’ rights.

While attending law school, Corey earned book awards for achieving the highest grades in the courses Animals and the Law, Ocean and Coastal Law, and International Environmental Law; served as a research assistant to a professor of animal law, torts, and evidence; and secured internships and volunteered at several animal and environmental protection organizations. He graduated in the top 20% of his class with an environmental law certificate and pro bono honors in 2013 and lives with his family in Silver Spring, Maryland—a city with a historic connection to the founding of PETA. 

Litigation Division

Asher Smith oversees the PETA Foundation’s Litigation division, including its strategic impact lawsuits. Representative cases include actions under the Endangered Species Act against roadside zoos, constitutional lawsuits on behalf of both animals and animal advocates facing viewpoint discrimination, and false advertising claims challenging the deceptive marketing of some of the country’s most prominent animal-derived products as “humane.” He has served as lead counsel for precedent-setting victories against (and helped run out of business) multiple exhibitors featured on the Netflix series Tiger King and secured victories in trial and appellate courts against other prominent animal exploiters, such as major research universities.

Cumulatively, these lawsuits have expanded rights for animals under the law, helped virtually eliminate the cub-petting industry, made it more difficult for government actors to use the First Amendment to hinder animal advocacy, and established liability for practices such as declawing and premature separation of mothers and their newborns.

In addition to managing public interest lawsuits on behalf of clients including PETA, other PETA entities, and individuals, Asher and the Litigation division also regularly liaise with federal and state prosecutors, provide animal advocates with pre-litigation support, and help fend off strategic lawsuits seeking to silence animal advocacy.

Asher was recently named a 2023 American Bar Association On the Rise—Top 40 Young Lawyers awardee and has been recognized for going “to previously unmined depths of legal theory.” He is admitted to practice law in New York and is a member of the New York City Bar Animal Law Committee.

He joined the PETA Foundation in 2018 after working for the global law firm Paul, Weiss on matters including multibillion-dollar securities and antitrust litigation, pro bono eviction defense, and litigation in the Deep South and at the Supreme Court for gay rights.

Asher graduated from Yale Law School. He studied modern American history and classics at Emory University. 

As a senior litigation counsel in the Litigation division, Aaron Frazier works on a variety of constitutional, statutory, and common law cases against government agencies, roadside zoos, laboratories, agricultural facilities, other businesses or organizations, and individuals in both state and federal trial and appellate courts. He also helps defend PETA entities against lawsuits.

Before joining the PETA Foundation, Aaron worked as a senior associate litigation attorney at the law firm of Harris Beach PLLC. He received his J.D. from Cornell University and holds a B.A. in philosophy from Harvard University.

Aaron lives in Monroe County, New York, with his cats, Sparkle and Spectre.

Michael Waller is senior litigation counsel with the PETA Foundation, where he primarily works on litigation to prevent commercial entities from falsely claiming that their products were humanely and ethically farmed or produced. He also assists the legal team in analyzing the basis and strategy for potential litigation to address animal exploitation and abuse.

Michael joined the PETA Foundation in 2023 with 30 years of civil litigation experience. Immediately prior to joining the PETA Foundation, he spent 17 years as a partner with the global law firm K&L Gates LLP, where he was primarily engaged in handling complex commercial claims involving Superfund and RCRA liability and cost recovery as well as products liability, unfair competition and antitrust, and claims arising from mergers and acquisitions. He has also engaged in insurance coverage litigation arising from environmental contamination claims and headed a team of litigators defending several of the firm’s clients in toxic tort litigation, primarily involving asbestos-related personal injury claims.

Michael is licensed to practice law in New Jersey and New York and is admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, and all federal district courts in New York.

Kelsey McLean is a litigation counsel in the Litigation division. She graduated from Saint Louis University School of Law and joined the PETA Foundation after working as a partner for a national law firm. She has also served on the board of the Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation since 2015. She lives with her companion cats, Binx and Marius.

Raquel Panza is a litigation counsel in the Litigation division. Before joining the PETA Foundation, she worked as a litigation associate at a global law firm, where she focused on white-collar investigations and government contracts. She later joined the plaintiffs’ bar and brought securities fraud class action lawsuits against major corporations. Raquel received her J.D. from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and holds a B.A. in English from the University of California–Davis. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her companion cats, Lou and Lucretia.

Ashley Ridgway is a litigation counsel in the Litigation division. She works on both active litigation matters and research to support prospective cases to advance the interests of animals who are routinely abused and exploited.

Ashley received her J.D. from the University of Virginia and studied fine art and anthropology at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. She is a member of the District of Columbia Bar. She previously interned at the PETA Foundation in the Animal Law division before completing a one-year litigation fellowship at the Animal Legal Defense Fund and rejoining the PETA Foundation in 2022 as a litigation fellow.

In her free time, Ashley enjoys relaxing in the sun near any body of water, trying new vegan restaurants, and taking walks with her three canine companions.

Ignacio Saldana is a litigation counsel in the Litigation division. Ignacio joined the PETA Foundation after working as a litigation associate at a global law firm in New York, where he represented financial institutions and companies in commercial litigation before state and federal courts. In addition, he advised clients with respect to compliance with U.S. sanctions, anti-corruption, and anti–money laundering laws. 

Ignacio received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, where he served as notes editor of the Michigan Journal of International Law. He is licensed to practice law in the state of New York and the District of Columbia.

Kristi Fox received her J.D. cum laude from Vermont Law and Graduate School with a concentration in animal law. While in law school, she served as cochair of the Animal Law Society, worked as a clinician in the school’s Farmed Animal Advocacy Clinic, and interned with PETA’s animal law division. Before attending law school, Kristi was a marketing director for a global professional services firm and a senior technical project manager for PETA’s Interactive Media Group. She received an M.B.A. from Florida International University and a B.B.A. cum laude with a concentration in management and business law from Temple University.

Captive Animal Law Enforcement

As general counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement (CALE), Brittany Peet leads an interdisciplinary team of attorneys, a veterinarian, captive wildlife experts, and researchers who work on behalf of animals held captive in roadside zoos, traveling shows, and the film and television industries. The CALE team achieves victories for captive wildlife via legal and regulatory actions as well as public advocacy campaigns and legislation.

CALE’s recent successes include a complaint to Ohio authorities that resulted in the surrender of four chimpanzees, two snow macaques, and two spider monkeys from a notorious roadside zoo to true sanctuaries. A CALE complaint to the U.S. Department of Agriculture also resulted in the agency’s termination of the license of a Florida-based exotic-animal dealer who called himself “the Monkey Whisperer,” which blocks him from legally selling primates for the pet trade for at least one year. The decision stemmed from his guilty pleas to federal charges related to the illegal sale and transport of primates—including his sale of a capuchin monkey to singer Chris Brown, which also followed a CALE complaint to California authorities.

Brittany often represents PETA in the media and has appeared on CNN’s This Is Life With Lisa Ling and Netflix’s Tiger King. She also negotiates and coordinates wild- and exotic-animal rescues for PETA and has overseen the rescues of hundreds of animals, including 80 bears, 78 big cats, and 24 chimpanzees.

Brittany joined the PETA Foundation’s legal department in 2009 and lives in Michigan with her beloved PETA-rescued dog, Leonard. 

As director and counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement, Michelle Sinnott works closely with PETA to advise on issues related to captive animals exploited in circuses, roadside zoos, aquariums, and traveling shows. She handles a variety of legal issues arising from PETA’s work on behalf of captive wildlife, including regulatory and law enforcement efforts, policy work, litigation, and investigations. Her work has prevented shopping mall aquarium attractions from opening new locations, led to criminal wildlife trafficking convictions, and landed numerous roadside zoos in legal trouble with state and federal regulatory authorities.

Before joining the PETA Foundation in 2017, Michelle worked at Trustees for Alaska, a nonprofit environmental law firm, where she focused on environmental litigation. She began her legal career in animal law at Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal, first as a paralegal and then as a lawyer after graduating from law school.

Michelle received her J.D. from Vermont Law School, and she holds a B.A. in philosophy from Mercer University. She is a member of the Alaska Bar Association.

Michelle lives in Anchorage, Alaska, with her partner and their two adventurous canine companions, Chewy and Raven.

As senior counsel and manager of regulatory affairs for Captive Animal Law Enforcement (CALE), Molly Johnson advises PETA on a range of issues related to captive wildlife. Her work has resulted in enforcement actions and fines against some of the worst roadside zoos. She also leads CALE’s participation in state and federal rulemaking, advocating for stronger regulatory protections for captive animals.

Prior to joining the PETA Foundation in 2021, Molly held several positions in New York State government, including a clerkship with the state’s highest court. She received her J.D. from Cornell Law School and a B.A. in American literature and culture from the University of California–Los Angeles.

As senior counsel and manager of legislative affairs for Captive Animal Law Enforcement (CALE), Jonathan provides legal advice and assistance on issues that arise from PETA’s work on behalf of captive wildlife, including management of CALE’s participation in state and local legislative efforts.

Before joining the PETA Foundation in 2020, Jonathan worked for a large corporation in Minnesota, providing research assistance to legal professionals in the U.S. and the U.K. He began his career as a clerk for a trial court judge in rural Alaska. He is the author of “One Ought Not Have So Delicate a Nose: CAFOs, Agricultural Nuisance, and the Rise of the Right to Farm,” a comment published in Environmental Law. He received his J.D. from Lewis & Clark Law School.

Cydnee Bence is counsel for the PETA Foundation’s Captive Animal Law Enforcement (CALE) division. Her work in captive animal law enforcement has led to federal actions and state fines against roadside zoos.

Before joining CALE, she was a fellow in the PETA Foundation’s Animal Law division, providing advice and assistance on matters including consumer protection and administrative law.

Cydnee was previously a legal fellow at the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems, focusing on food labeling, biotechnology, and factory farms. While earning her J.D. at Vermont Law and Graduate School, she spent a semester in practice as an intern with the PETA Foundation. She also completed a master of laws degree in food and agriculture and a master’s degree in environmental law and policy at Vermont Law and Graduate School. She has published work through the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law School and in the Vermont Law Review on issues related to captive animals, consumer protection, and housing equality.

Cydnee lives in Michigan with her two playful feline companions, Marty and Ruthie.

As counsel for the PETA Foundation’s Captive Animal Law Enforcement division, Emily Lively advises PETA on a variety of issues related to its work on behalf of captive animals in roadside zoos, aquariums, and traveling shows. She previously worked as a legal fellow in the Animal Law division.

Before joining the PETA Foundation, Emily received her J.D. and an advanced certificate in environmental law from Pace University. During her time at Pace, she worked as a student associate for its Land Use Law Center and its Environmental Litigation Clinic and she served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Kenneth M. Karas of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in biology.

Emily lives in Plymouth, Massachusetts, with her companion dog, Maggie.

“PETA Foundation” is the d/b/a designation for the Foundation to Support Animal Protection. The group is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt entity and public charity and provides legal and other services to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Inc. (“PETA”) and other entities as a section 509(a)(3) supporting organization. PETA Foundation lawyers frequently represent PETA as well as other entities and individuals. Through its commitment to animal law, the PETA Foundation continuously makes significant strides in protecting and advancing the rights of animals.