What We Do
Our Services
We provide our services—without charge—to animal protection nonprofits exclusively. This includes organizations that work to improve the lives and reduce the suffering of farmed animals; maintain sanctuaries and rescues; and bring about diet-change.
Once we take on a client, ADP serves, in effect, as its “outside general counsel.” We consult with clients and guide them on the many day-to-day issues and matters that arise in the course of a nonprofit’s work. We also work with clients on wide-ranging or longer-term issues, strategies, and best practices.
The following is a non-exhaustive list of the types of matters we typically handle:
- Start-up entity formation
- Nonprofit compliance
- Intellectual property and privacy protection
- Employee vs. independent contractor audits
- Fiscal sponsorship Fundraising
- HR (e.g., employee handbooks, harassment policies)
- Transitions from fiscal sponsorship to a 501c3
- Employee best practices and disputes
- Contract drafting, negotiation and reviewState registration
- Crisis management
- Board governance
- Social media and rights clearance
We make ourselves readily available to our clients and strongly encourage them to contact us promptly when the need arises. Our clients are our clients for the duration and no, you’re not “bothering” us.
If you are seeking assistance with a legal question, issue or concern, please contact us to discuss becoming an ADP client.
A Typical Week
In the course of a typical week we may be asked to form a 501c3 start-up; review bylaws to advise on process for removing adding a new board member; review a confidentiality agreement; draft a privacy policy; prepare an employee handbook; vet a client's proposed website or new aggressive marketing piece for possible IP, defamation and privacy issues; talk an Executive Director through a sensitive employee issue; and advise on out-of-state fundraising requirements. And then comes Tuesday.
The Weeping Elephant Project
The great majority of our matters come to us through existing and new clients. In those instances, ADP acts in its capacity as the attorneys representing our client’s interests, which is the core of ADP’s work.
On a very limited basis, we also pursue special projects and causes in our capacity as advocates, rather than as attorneys for a client. We may do this on our own or in collaboration with other animal protection organizations.
As an example, ADP co-founder David Ebert has had a long-standing personal interest in the treatment of elephants in the U.S. and, specifically, the plight of elephants held in captivity. Our work on this front is described here.
Why We Do This
The numbers are staggering – over 9 billion land animals are slaughtered for food in the U.S. annually, and over 60 billion worldwide. Each of those factory farmed animals suffers in unthinkable ways in the brutal and gruesome process of being raised, slaughtered and butchered.
The Voiceless Animal Cruelty Index (VACI) tracks the animal welfare performance of fifty countries selected among the largest producers of farm animal products in the world. Of the 50 VACI countries, the U.S. ranks - shockingly - 49th. That is, our country's standing as more cruel, more inhumane and more abusive than at least 48 other countries that were reviewed.
There is a dire need to fight this institutionalized cruelty. And it can only be accomplished through the incremental changes to which our clients are deeply devoted. ADP gives our clients a fuller opportunity to do what they do best—fight to save animals from abuse and suffering—while leaving to us what we do best—provide excellent free legal counsel—all in support of our common goal.