Testimonials

"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

"Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary is filled with gratitude for the pro-bono assistance we have received since 2020 from the Animal Defense Partnership. David, Joel, and the team at ADP have always gone above and beyond our expectations. From helping with disgruntled employees to gaining legal guardianship of an emaciated baby capuchin who tested positive for methamphetamines. Baby Skotty (aka Neo) cannot thank you enough for his freedom. Skotty now lives with Kooda, who acts as his mother figure and Hariet Houdini, another youngster who was found running loose in Kentucky, who escaped the authorities several times, hence her name. The trio now live in harmony here at Jungle Friends, thanks to the help from ADP! David Ebert has always responded quickly to our every need, David’s commitment to helping others with the vast legal experience encompassed at ADP is extraordinary, especially for those of us on very tight budgets. ADP is invaluable to those of us working toward making life better for animals who do not have a voice and for those of us who protect and care for them. We cannot thank ADP enough for the exceptional guidance we have received from the generous and compassionate team at Animal Defense Partnership. For the monkeys, always."

Kari Bagnall; Founder and President, Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary

"Voice for Asian Elephants is extremely grateful to the Animal Defense Partnership (ADP) team for its unconditional and exceptional legal services. VFAES runs on a very low budget, and every penny is critical to saving the endangered Asian elephants of India. Because of ADP's pro-bono support, and its incredible legal expertise, we are now able to channel the hefty legal fees that we would otherwise be paying to helping Asian elephants. Furthermore, all of the people we have had the pleasure to work with - David, Lesley, Jennifer, and Jaclyn - are passionate, caring and compassionate animal lovers. David, in particular, is deeply empathetic towards elephants, and always goes the extra mile to treat all of our requests with a sense of urgency, and provides meticulous feedback. In one of the recent requests for a review of an agreement, Lesley responded within hours. Despite the free services that ADP offers, the professionalism is far superior than any lawyers we have worked with in the past. One of the most laudable characters that weaves together the team of ADP lawyers is humility. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your commitment and determination to serving the greater good."

Sangita Iyer; Author, National Geographic Explorer

Founder, Voice for Asian Elephants Society

"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

“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

"The 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

"I want you to know that I think ADP is one of the most important organizations our AR community could support. Running a non-profit across the country takes up huge amounts of human resources. Without ADP, we would be spending thousands of dollars on lawyer fees and thousands of dollars in staff time trying to navigate government bureaucracy. And we're just one of many organizations that ADP supports. It is such a gift to be able to reach out to Anjali when we have a question and know that she will be responsive and guide us. Prior to ADP, we were so conscious of high lawyer fees that we would only reach out when we'd spent many hours as a staff trying to figure something out on our own. With Anjali, we ask a quick question and we're just a lot more efficient. Thank you!"

Monica Chen; Executive Director, Factory Farming Awareness Coalition

"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

"The Animal Defense Partnership is a gift to our movement. As the founder of a non-profit news organization, I am faced with a slew of legal issues on a regular basis that ADP has solved for me swiftly and expertly. ADP’s Anjali Sareen is a whiz attorney who created contracts for JaneUnChained News that met every requirement I had. She suggested brilliant strategies that had not occurred to me. Best of all, Anjali listened carefully as I expressed what I needed and made it happen. Instead of mumbo jumbo legalese, Anjali crafted a contract that was readable and understandable, while still achieving all the necessary protections and specifics. Normally, meeting with attorneys is not a fun experience. However, ADP’s legal team has such a can-do attitude and positive outlook, it’s made me feel reassured and happy that I am in such good hands. I can sleep better at night knowing ADP has my organization’s back. That enables me to focus like a laser on our organization's mission: saving animals."

Jane Velez-Mitchell, JaneUnChained News Network Founder

"David, Joel, Mary and the rest of the team at Animal Defense Partnership have been an invaluable resource to ProVeg International in its efforts to replace meat, eggs, and dairy with plant-based alternatives. ADP lawyers provide first rate service on a pro bono basis, are a pleasure to work with, and, most important, have freed up ProVeg to devote its energies to the cause of tackling urgent world problems through animal-free diet choices. We are grateful for our partnership with ADP and look forward to continued collaboration."

Sebastian Joy, MA; Founder and President, ProVeg International

"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 had the good fortune to be introduced to David when ADP was starting out. Rescuing tigers in this country is not a traditional animal protection initiative, but they never questioned our commitment, refused a request or an opportunity to help. During our time in this field, we have also worked with other law firms and the legal divisions of well established organizations who do excellent work. In our opinion, David and ADP's insight, efficiency and effectiveness make them, quite simply, 'The smartest Cats in the Room.'"

Bill Nimmo; Founder and President, Tigers in America

"We are so grateful to be receiving guidance from the Animal Defense Partnership, a nonprofit organization of legal professionals dedicated to helping those who are working to help animals! Support from ADP, and other individuals and organizations generously assisting us as we work to create better information for animal advocates, enables us to continue our mission in ways we could not achieve on our own. We deeply appreciate their passionate commitment to the cause, and we highly recommend checking out their work!"

Zee Grifler; Executive Director, The Open Sanctuary Project

"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're very grateful for David and ADP's help. ADP was able to connect us with outside pro bono counsel that had resources and subject-matter expertise we were looking for. Being able to tap into these outside resources is extremely helpful to enable organizations like ours to make a real impact for animals. ADP and its network have a sophisticated and diverse understanding of issues that matter to animal protection groups, and generously give from that to provide targeted and useful help."

Cheryl Leahy; Executive Director and former General Counsel, Animal Outlook

"Wow. When singing the praises of Animal Defense Partnership, it's hard to know where to begin. I’m deeply grateful to Joel and the team for their speedy, thoughtful, thorough, and patient legal advice. As fellow animal lovers, they know exactly what nonprofits in this field need and face. Joel has been a phenomenal thought partner and ally to Farmed Animal Funders. It's hard to imagine where the animal advocacy movement would be without Animal Defense Partnership. They have my heartfelt thanks."

Mikaela Saccoccio; Executive Director, Farmed Animal Funders

"As long as I’m writing you, I’m going to gush for a moment: With zero sarcasm and full sincerity, I will share with you that you and your team are one of the things that I’m thankful for at this time of year. ADP does such good work for so many organizations, and as someone involved with multiple organizations I’ve seen your impact across varied nonprofit landscapes. What you are doing is amazing: You serve as an exponent to the work others are doing. Thank you sir – and team!"

Chuck Swift, International Anti-Poaching Foundation USA

“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

“Joel, David and the entire team at Animal Defense Partnership have been such incredible friends and an invaluable resource to Paws Crossed Animal Rescue and our mission to ‘Rescue One By One Until There Are None”. This group is always willing to lend expert advice, most recently with some tax questions we had. They are wonderful animal advocates in our community and beyond. Continuously engaging and inspiring, we were thrilled to honor them, and all of their amazing work, at our Autumn Tails Gala in 2017. We are so fortunate to be able to include these passionate, tenacious and kind-heart people as members of our very special Paws Crossed family”.

Julie Potter; Business & Development Director, Paws Crossed Animal Rescue
Jennifer Angelucci; President/CEO, Paws Crossed Animal Rescue

“The Animal Defense Partnership is an excellent resource for pro bono legal assistance for animal charities. We are very grateful for their assistance.”

Emily von Klemperer; General Counsel, Farm Sanctuary

"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

"David has been an incredible support to me and Beyond Carnism. He has come to our aid on very short notice, and has been tremendously informative and reassuring. The team and I feel so much more secure knowing The Animal Defense Partnership exists; we're better able to focus on our work for the animals knowing we can access reliable legal guidance when we need to."

Melanie Joy; Founding President, Beyond Carnism

"ADP was instrumental in helping Encompass launch. When we were navigating fiscal sponsorship and how to stand as our own 501(c)3, ADP was there with advice and resources. They helped connect us to local pro bono lawyers who made filing for our nonprofit status a breeze and at no cost (other than the filing paperwork itself). I would highly recommend ADP to any animal protection entity, they were a life-saver!"

Aryenish Birdie, M.A.; Founder and Executive Director, Encompass

"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

"David, Joel, and the whole team at The Animal Defense Partnership are inspiring in their commitment to helping others. The depth and breadth of their legal experience is invaluable to those of us working with them to end suffering, and their generosity in offering pro bono services is deeply appreciated. Our mission to advance rights, health, and wellbeing benefits profoundly from their dedication."

Hope Ferdowsian, MD, MPH; President & CEO, Phoenix Zones Initiative

"Congratulations to all of you, and thanks, from all at CAS, for filling a gaping hole in the movement to change the world for animals."

Kathy Stevens; Founder and Executive Director, Catskill Animal Sanctuary

"The 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)

"As the president and co-founder of Dharma Voices for Animals (DVA), the only international Buddhist animal rights/animal advocacy organization in the world, I have had the privilege of receiving legal advice on several occasions from ADP’s David Ebert. The quality of representation was simply superb. I always felt valued as a client and treated as if DVA were paying hundreds of dollars per hour to our attorney. I can only imagine how valuable ADP’s legal representations has been to the animal protection community and the huge number of animal lives saved. I strongly recommend ADP!"

Bob Isaacson; Co-Founder and President, Dharma Voices for Animals

“David and Joel have provided CIWF with the highest quality legal advice as we work to protect the lives of farmed animals. From a myriad of contract negotiations to HR/legal advice to keeping our organization in full compliance with Federal, state and local laws, ADP and their network of pro bono lawyers have provided us with critical information that has kept us on track and afforded us more time and energy to work on behalf of farmed animals. We are tremendously grateful for their assistance!"

David Soleil; fmr. US Head of Operations, Compassion In World Farming

“In addition to formerly serving as ADP Board Chair, as a client I’ve been delighted with the outstanding legal services first provided when our charity launched its US office. ADP continues to support us with efficient, high quality services for policy development and legal counsel whenever we need it.”

Allan Kornberg, MD, MBA; Executive and Medical Director, Physicians Association for Nutrition

"We are extremely grateful for The Animal Defense Partnership. They provide us with incredibly helpful legal support and great legal advice that is down-to-earth, supportive, and timely. It means the world to know they are here for us and for the animals."

Indra Lahiri, PhD; Founder and President, Indraloka Animal Sanctuary

"Saving elephants - as individuals and as populations - is among the most arduous yet necessary actions we must take to protect our planet. David Ebert of ADP has been an invaluable pinnacle of light in his generosity in ensuring that In Defense of Animals' work for elephants is of the highest possible quality. For example, his insights, commitment, skills, and integrity have become integral to our annual Ten Worst Zoos for Elephants List that serves to not only reveal the truth about zoos to the public but also serves as a respected resource to many other protectors of elephants and other wild animals. We are so grateful for his expertise!"

Toni Frohoff, PhD; Terramar Research, Elephant and Cetacean Scientist (Formerly with In Defense of Animals)

"Free All Captive Elephants has found David Ebert and The Animal Defense Partnership (ADP) to be an invaluable resource in pursuing our mission of getting captive elephants in the U.S. to accredited sanctuaries. I have sought Attorney Ebert’s counsel on many legal issues ranging from intellectual property law to administrative procedure. Each time, my questions were answered promptly and with great care. Not only does ADP provide quality legal services but David’s compassion and true caring for animals is genuine and evident with everything he does."

Dee Gaug, J.D.; President, Free All Captive Elephants (FACE) f/n/a Save Nosey Now

"Dear David and Joel,

Hello. I hope this message finds you well. 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

"Return to Freedom is extremely grateful to Animal Defense Partnership and their committed network of attorneys.

David and Joel are passionate about the humane treatment of animals. Their involvement has transformed Return to Freedom’s ability to carry out complex projects, streamline ongoing activities and has allowed us to redirect funds to where it needs to go most, the horses and burros.

ADP and their network have supported Return to Freedom with guidance and counsel to address a broad range of issues.

Their steadfast support and care for issues large and small make them an asset to organizations of all size. We are grateful for all of the knowledge and expertise they have shared with us over the last few years."

Neda DeMayo; President, Return to Freedom, Wild Horse Conservation