LEAP Announces Spring 2025 Speaker Series

The Law, Environment & Animals Program (LEAP) at Yale Law School has announced its Spring 2025 Speaker Series. The series begins March 26 with a talk by University of San Diego School of Law Professor Natalie Jacewicz, who will discuss the failure of American law to protect wildlife abundance for animals considered common and what reforms are needed to protect these species. Other events this spring will feature University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law Associate Professor Lingxi Chenyang ’20 on the “food anti-democracy” associated with the American food system and Farm Bill as well as National University of Singapore Professor Jolene Lin on the development of climate litigation in Asia. Read more about and register for events below.
“Protecting Wild Animal Abundance” with Natalie Jacewicz
March 26 at 12:10 - 1:00 p.m. ET
Location: Sterling Law Building, Room 128
Register for Natalie Jacewicz talk (in-person event)
Lunch will be provided

The world is hemorrhaging wild animals, according to scientists. Relative to 50 years ago, trees have fewer birds, rivers fewer fish, and bonnets fewer bees, recent research says. The result is a radically reshaped environment, yet for the most part, these changes lie beyond the ambit of American environmental law. Statutes such as the Endangered Species Act prevent rare species from extinction, and state fish and game laws ensure the supply of sport animals runs high. But no law focuses on maintaining large numbers of animals considered common. As a result, eye-popping numbers of common wild animals can die without triggering statutory alarm bells. In this talk, moderated by LEAP Postgraduate Fellow Laurie Sellars, University of San Diego School of Law Professor Natalie Jacewicz argues that draining abundance should concern us and that the law should change to protect common animals’ numbers. Both instrumental views of wildlife and those that assign nature or animals intrinsic value can provide foundations to value abundance. Yet depending on the rationale adopted, the prescriptions for protecting abundance change dramatically.
Jacewicz is an assistant professor of environmental law. Prior to joining USD, Jacewicz was a Furman Academic Fellow at NYU School of Law and a clerk for Judge Randolph D. Moss of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and Judge David S. Tatel of the D.C. Circuit. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in California Law Review, NYU Law Review, Harvard Environmental Law Review, and the Michigan Journal of Environmental and Administrative Law.
This event is co-sponsored with the Yale Animal Law Society and the Yale Environmental Law Association.
“Food Anti-Democracy” with Lingxi Chenyang ’20
April 1 at 12:10 - 1:10 p.m. ET
Location: Sterling Law Building, Room 129
Register for Lingxi Chenyang talk (in-person event)
Lunch will be provided

Have you ever wondered why the American food system is the way it is? The answer lies in the Farm Bill, a spending law from the Great Depression that governs U.S. agriculture and, according to critics, causes significant environmental damage and health issues. Despite being passed by Congress every five years, the Farm Bill does not reflect the priorities of most voters, many argue. Initially passed as a financial bailout for wealthy farmers, the bill faced public protest and judicial challenges. In response, officials used anti-democratic tactics to silence dissent, promoting misleading narratives about farm subsidies as beneficial for society. This “food anti-democracy” obscures public awareness of spending, grants excessive power to large agricultural interests, and undermines essential nutrition and conservation efforts.
In this talk, moderated by LEAP Executive Director Viveca Morris, University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law Associate Professor Lingxi Chenyang ’20 will explore the historical and political context behind the Farm Bill, shed light on the flaws in our food system, and suggest pathways for reform.
Chenyang’s research lies at the intersection of climate law, food and environmental law, and property law. She graduated from Yale Law School with a J.D. and the University of Michigan with a Ph.D. in philosophy.
This event is co-sponsored with the Yale Animal Law Society and the Yale Environmental Law Association.
“The Rise of Climate Litigation in Asia” with Jolene Lin
April 10 at 12:15 - 1:15 p.m. ET
Sterling Law Building, Room 121
Register for Jolene Lin talk (in-person event)
Lunch will be provided

Climate change litigation has developed rapidly across the world, but arrived more recently in Asia. In the first scholarly examination on the prospects of climate litigation in Asia, several contributors to Climate Litigation in the Asia Pacific (Cambridge University Press 2020) highlighted challenges and obstacles. While these challenges remain, climate litigation in Asia has seen a powerful emergence in 2024 alone. In this talk, moderated by LEAP Faculty Director Doug Kysar, National University of Singapore Professor Jolene Lin will share her analysis and reflections on some of the leading cases in the Asian climate litigation docket with particular focus on the Korean Constitutional Court's landmark decision declaring parts of Korea's Carbon Neutrality Act unconstitutional and the Indian Supreme Court's historic judgment on climate change and human rights in M.K. Ranjitsinh v. Union of India. She will also consider global trends in climate litigation and their impact on Asia.
Jolene Lin is Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Asia-Pacific Centre of Environmental Law. She is a globally recognized expert on climate change law. Her recent publications include “Governing Climate Change: Global Cities and Transnational Lawmaking” (Cambridge University Press 2018), ”Climate Change Litigation in the Asia Pacific” (Cambridge University Press 2020) and ”Litigating Climate Change in the Global South” (Oxford University Press 2024). She is on the editorial boards of Journal of Environmental Law, Transnational Environmental Law and the Chinese Journal of Environmental Law. Lin is also a member of the Academic Circle supporting the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the right to development (2024-2026) and Vice-Chair of the International Chamber of Commerce Global Environment and Energy Commission. In recognition of her research, she has been invited to deliver distinguished lectures at University College London, the University of Amsterdam and the Sorbonne Abu Dhabi. In Fall 2025, Lin will be visiting New York University School of Law as global professor of law Lin read law at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LLB), New York University (LLM) and Erasmus University Rotterdam (PhD). She is an advocate and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore.
This event is co-sponsored with the Yale Animal Law Society and the Yale Environmental Law Association.