Edie Bowles is an accomplished animal law solicitor and the founder of Advocates for Animals, her animal law firm in the United Kingdom. Edie's path evolved from intellectual property law to focus solely on animal law, where she now provides legal services to multiple animal welfare organisations in the U.K.
Edie’s Path to Animal Law:
At first, Edie had a brief career specialising in intellectual property law. Interestingly, she didn't hear much about animal law as a potential career during her university years.
In the United Kingdom, becoming a lawyer involves getting an undergraduate law degree, then another year of university education, and finally, two years of practical training. Initially, she planned to do animal law work on the side while practising intellectual property law; however, when working as an intellectual property lawyer, Edie realised she could have a career in animal law.
She decided to focus on animals lawfully and joined an anti-animal testing charity called Cruelty for International. A few years later, she co-founded her animal law firm called Advocates for Animals, where she works with multiple animal welfare organisations.
Edie’s Successes in Animal Law:
Edie took on a notable case for the Humane League involving a judicial review about broiler chickens. This case drew much media attention and increased public awareness of the problems with fast-growing chicken breeds. This case is a great example of how legal action can raise public awareness and produce benefits, even if the proceedings are ongoing and challenging.
Edie played a key role in giving legal help to groups that do undercover work to uncover animal cruelty and systemic poor practices. This kind of support is really important because it helps them understand and deal with the tricky legal parts of their investigations to ensure they can mitigate any risks and facilitate the dissemination of information.
Edie’s Challenge in Animal Law:
Edie finds the financial aspect of running an animal law firm challenging. It's a difficult balance, making enough to keep the firm going while trying to help clients who don't have much to spend. This money issue also makes it hard for the field to grow. It’s tough to find lawyers who are okay with earning less money than they would in other types of law.
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