Jill Lee Ryther

Jill grew up in Michigan and graduated with honors from the University of Michigan, receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree with a dual specialization in Political Science and English, along with a minor in Political Philosophy.

While attending the University of Michigan Jill was a member of many campus organizations and was the recipient of several distinguished scholarship and achievement awards. After graduating, Jill worked at a prestigious family law firm, Oyler and Woldman, in Santa Monica, CA.

Jill subsequently attended UCLA School of Law, where she was President of the Mock Trial Association and won several awards in multiple competitions. Jill also served as the Communications Director for the Animal Law Society, and was featured in several newspapers and radio shows as the campus administrator for the Yes on Prop 2 Campaign. While in law school, Jill worked as a law clerk for the Los Angeles District Attorney in the Hardcore Gang Division for three years, conducting preliminary hearings in the courtroom and assisting in several murder trials against various Los Angeles gang members.

At UCLA, Jill took a class, “Animals and the Law” that changed her life. It was then Jill realized she could combine her legal education with her love of animals to make a career out of ending animal exploitation by being an activist attorney. Jill regularly speaks at conferences, law schools, and other events about her experience with animals and the law.

Jill started RLG in 2009, and has already had an impressive legal career that involves her work successfully defending well known animal rights activists, working with animal rights educator, Ric O’Barry in Taiji, Japan, to bring awareness to the dolphin slaughter (documented in The Cove), and successfully litigating against corporate giants like PetSmart and Costco for their mistreatment of animals. Additionally, Jill has successfully represented human companions of dogs that were shot and killed by police officers and achieved the first CA settlement ever to require officers to receive training on dog behavior and non-lethal methods. Jill has worked with the Beagle Freedom Project on several rescues including the rescue of 41 Beagles from a laboratory in Spain. Jill has saved many dogs from dangerous dog hearings. And she campaigned in West Hollywood to outlaw the sale of fur within the city limits.

Jill’s Bar Admissions: State Bar of California; United States District Courts for Central, Eastern and Southern California