Michael Harris

Experienced legal and non-profit professional with a proven track record in organization building, strategic planning, fundraising, and mentorship. Developed and led programs that significantly increased legal capabilities and community outreach, overseeing teams of attorneys and interns. Dedicated to fostering collaborative environments and advancing animal rights initiatives.

• Wildlife Law Program Director, Friends of Animals, Centennial, CO, January 2103-December 2021. Founded a program to advance the legal rights of wildlife worldwide as a standalone entity within Friends of Animals. Expanded program from 2 attorneys to a staff of 4 attorneys, 3-4 legal interns (annually), and an office manager. Oversaw an annual operating budget of + $500,000., Responsible for day-to-day supervision and mentoring of all program staff. Led development of strategic plans for both the legal docket and program development. Raised more than $2 million dollars in short- and long-term donations. Worked with staff in Friends of Animals’ main office to coordinate fundraising, press, and events related to the program. Primary spokesperson with supporters, the media, and the public., Regular interface with Friends of Animals executive leadership and board.
• Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the Environmental Law Clinic, University of Denver, Founded a program to advance the legal rights of wildlife worldwide as a standalone entity within Friends of Animals. Expanded program from 2 attorneys to a staff of 4 attorneys, 3-4 legal interns (annually), and an office manager. Oversaw an annual operating budget of + $500,000. Responsible for day-to-day supervision and mentoring of all program staff. Led development of strategic plans for both the legal docket and program development. Raised more than $2 million dollars in short- and long-term donations. Worked with staff in Friends of Animals’ main office to coordinate fundraising, press, and events related to the program. Primary spokesperson with supporters, the media, and the public. Regular interface with Friends of Animals executive leadership and board.

• Documentary/Film, Lucy: The Stolen Lives of Elephants, 01/01/25
• Associated Press, What Can Be Saved?: Owl v. Owl (Part 1), 11/07/19, https://woub.org/2019/11/07/watch--what-can-be-saved-owl-vs-owl-part-1/
• The New York Times Magazine, The Zoos Called it a Rescue: But are the Elephants Really Better Off?, 07/09/19, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/09/magazine/elephants-zoos-swazi-17.html
• The Current, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Why thousands of barred owls are being shot by U.S. conservationists, 06/22/19, https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-june-22-2018-1.4716183/june-22-2018-episode-transcript-1.4718767
• All Things Considered (NPR), Report Shows Trump Administration Issued Permits for Lion Trophies to Republican Donors, 07/27/18, https://www.npr.org/2018/07/27/633171634/report-shows-trump-administration-issued-permits-for-lion-trophies-to-republican
• Documentary/Film, By All Rights, 01/01/16
• As It Happens, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, African elephants sent to US zoos, despite protests by animal rights activists, 03/10/16, https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-thursday-edition-1.3485353/african-elephants-sent-to-us-zoos-despite-protests-by-animal-rights-activists-1.3485355
• The New York Times, Success Spoils a U.S. Program to Round Up Wild Horses, 10/14/16, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/15/us/wild-horses-us-west.html
• All Things Considered (NPR), To Save Threatened Species, Another Species is Shot, 01/16/14, https://www.npr.org/2014/01/15/262735123/to-save-threatened-owl-another-species-is-shot

• A Right of Ethical Consideration for Non-Human Animals, 27 Hastings Env. L. J. 71, 01/01/21
• Foreword, Working with and for Animals: Getting the Theoretical Framework Right, 94 Denver L. Rev. 605, 01/01/17
• The Role of Law, Society and Ethics Within Wildlife Importing Countries, 33 Quinnipiac Law Review 515, 01/01/15
• Intervention of Right in Judicial Proceedings to Review Informal Federal Rulemakings, 40 Hofstra L. Rev. 879, 01/01/12
• Breaking The Grip Of The Administrative Triad: Agency Policymaking Under A Necessity-Based Doctrine, 86 Tulane L. Rev. 273, 01/01/11
• Environmental Deliberative Democracy and the Search for Administrative Legitimacy: A Legal Positivism Approach, 44 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 343, 01/01/11
• Standing in the Way of Judicial Review: Use of The Deliberative Process Privilege in APA Case, 53 Saint Louis L.J. 349, 01/01/09
• Promoting Corporate Self-Compliance: An Examination of the Debate Over the Legal Protection for Environmental Audits, 23 Ecology Law Q. 631, 01/01/96

• Trump’s latest attack on the environment harms wildlife and taxpayers, Salt Lake Tribune, 01/01/17
• Assault on ESA endangers Utah coffers, Salt Lake Tribune, 01/01/17
• Christo’s Floating Piers in Italy is a warning to Colorado, The Denver Post, 01/01/16
• How not to protect Arizona's wild horses, Arizona Republic, 01/01/16
• Resolving America’s wild horse crisis requires land reform, Las Vegas Review Journal, 01/01/16
• The BLM’s aerial war on horses comes to Colorado, The Denver Post, 01/01/15
• A Just West (Blog), High Country News, http://www.hcn.org/greenjustice/blog
• In My Own Words: Calling All Energy Hogs, Pitzer Participant, 01/01/08
• The Bush Energy Plan in Microcosm, The Falcon and the Oilman: Drilling on Wild Public Lands, The Environmental Forum, 05/01/04
• Time to School Indoor Molds, Environmental Protection Online, http://www.stevenspublishing.com/stevens/EHSpub.nsf/pubhome/lookup?opendocument, 01/01/04
• When the Lights Go Out: How Power Outages Cause Real Time Environmental Issues and How To Manage Them, Environmental Protection, 01/01/01

• Exposing the Myth of Trophy Hunting as a Means to Conserve Endangered and Threatened Species, New York State Bar Association, 06/16/23
• What is Earth Law?, Cardozo Law School, 01/01/22
• Hot Topics in Environmental Law: A Right of Ethical Consideration, Vermont Law School, 01/01/22
• A Right of Ethical Consideration for all Animals, Animals on the Mind 3.0, Institute for Human-Animal Connections, University of Denver, 01/01/18
• Issues of Animal Protection and Legal Ethics, University of Denver Law Review Symposium, 01/01/18
• Hunting as a Conservation Tool? Looking Behind the Rhetoric and Exploring Alternative Approaches, University of Denver Law Review Symposium, 01/01/18
• News from the Front Lines on Protecting Montana’s Water and Wildlife, 2016 Public Interest Environmental Law Conference, University of Oregon, 01/01/16
• Killing for Sport: Trophy Hunting v. Conservation, 2016 Public Interest Environmental Law Conference, University of Oregon, 01/01/16
• The Taking of One Species to Protect Another: Ethical and Legal Implications, 2016 Public Interest Environmental Law Conference, University of Oregon, 01/01/16
• Hunting for Answers about Sustainable Use Hunting, Hastings West-Northwest Symposium, UC Hastings School of Law, 01/01/15
• The Role of Law, Society and Ethics Within Wildlife Importing Countries, Quinnipiac University School of Law, 2015 Law Review Symposium (International Wildlife Trafficking), 01/01/15
• Does U.S.-Based Exemptions of Canned-Hunting Under the ESA Undermine International Protections for Endangered Wildlife?, 14th Annual International Wildlife Law Conference, The University of Baeu, Cameroon, Africa, 12/01/12
• A Sword or a Noose? Intervention of Right in Judicial Proceedings to Review Informal Federal Rulemakings, Rocky Mountain Jr. Scholars’ Forum, BYU School of Law, Provo, UT, 09/01/11
• A Sword or a Noose? Intervention of Right in Judicial Proceedings to Review Informal Federal Rulemakings, 2nd Annual Environmental Scholarship Colloquium, Vermont Law School South Royalton, VT, 09/01/11
• Teaching Environmental Justice In A Natural Resources Law Class, Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation 2011 Teacher’s Institute, Stevenson, WA, 05/01/11
• Saving Environmental Law Clinics: The Benefits of A Real-World Education (PAP3449), Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education 2010 Conference, Denver, CO, 10/01/10
• The Clean Air Hammer Falls: Revisions to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, 28th Public Interest Environmental Law Conference, University of Oregon, 02/01/10
• Communicating Environmental Issues Across Boarders, Globally Speaking: Voices, Visions, & Viewpoints, University of Denver (The Estlow Center), 02/01/09
• The Ozone Ambient Air Quality Standards and What They Mean for the American West, 27th Public Interest Environmental Law Conference, University of Oregon, 02/01/09
• Getting to Know Your Environmental Law Clinic and Student Attorney: How Can We Serve You, 27th Public Interest Environmental Law Conference, University of Oregon, 02/01/09
• Clinical Education and the Litigation of Biodiversity Issues, North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation Workshop (“Environmental Law Education: A Clinical Approach), Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico City, 11/01/08
• The Federal Agencies and NEPA, Winter Wildlands Alliance’s 2008 Grassroots Advocacy Conference (“Advocacy in a Climate of Change”), 10/01/08
• Laboratories of Innovation: States Driving The Climate Change Debate, National Association of Environmental Law Societies’ Annual Conference, University of Vermont, 03/01/08
• Endangered Species Act Update, CLE International, Denver, CO., 11/01/04
• Legal Careers, Pitzer College, 11/01/01
• Environmental Credits and Taxes, McKenna & Cuneo, 12/01/00
• Environmental Careers, Pitzer College, 11/01/00
• The Debate over Diesel and Alternative Fuels, McKenna & Cuneo, 09/01/00
• The Regulation of Stormwater, McKenna & Cuneo, 03/01/00
• Alumni Career Paths, Pitzer College, 02/01/00
• The College and University Environmental Workshops, McKenna & Cuneo, 11/01/99
• Airing the Issue of New Source Review, McKenna & Cuneo, 09/01/99
• Perchloroethylene Use: Regulatory Update, McKenna & Cuneo, 03/01/99

• Port Hamilton Refinery & Transp., LLLP v. U.S. EPA, 87 F.4th 188, 3rd Cir., 01/01/23
• Friends of Animals v. US Fish & Wildlife Serv., 28 F.4th 19, 9th Cir., 03/04/22
• Buffalo Field Campaign v. Williams, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6232, D. D.C., 01/12/22
• Friends of Animals v. Haaland, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 34528, 9th Cir., 11/19/21
• Friends of Animals v. Bernhardt, 15 F.4th 1254, 10th Cir., 01/01/21
• Friends of Animals v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serv., 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 187246, D. Utah, 09/28/21
• Friends of Animals v. Haaland, 997 F.3d 1010, 9th Cir., 01/01/21
• Friends of Animals v. Sheehan, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8456, D. Or., 01/15/21
• Friends of Animals v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serv., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 241903, D. Utah, 12/21/20
• Friends of Animals v. Silvey, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 28746, 9th Cir., 09/10/20
• Can. Geese Prot. Colo., LLC v. Lowney, 470 F. Supp. 3d 1220, D. Colo., 01/01/20
• Friends of Animals v. Silvey, 820 Fed. Appx. 513, 9th Cir., 01/01/20
• Friends of Animals v. Bernhardt, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73923, D. Colo., 04/24/20
• Friends of Animals v. United States EPA, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56171, D. Or., 03/31/20
• Friends of Animals v. Romero, 948 F.3d 579, 2nd Cir., 01/01/20
• Friends of Animals v. United States Fish & Wildlife Serv., 789 Fed. Appx. 599, 9th Cir., 01/01/20
• Friends of Animals v. Fish & Wildlife Serv., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 228741, D. Utah, 12/26/19
• Friends of Animals v. Ross, 396 F. Supp. 3d 1, D. D.C., 01/01/19
• Friends of Animals v. United States EPA, 383 F. Supp. 3d 1112, D. Or., 01/01/19
• Friends of Animals v. Zinke, 373 F. Supp. 3d 70, D. D.C., 01/01/19
• Friends of Animals v. Sheehan, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 210041, D. Or., 12/11/18
• Friends of Animals v. BLM, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 134199, 9th Cir., 08/09/18
• Friends of Animals v. BLM, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56104, D. Or., 01/01/18
• Buffalo Field Campaign v. Zinke, 289 F. Supp. 3d 103, D. D.C., 01/01/18
• Friends of Animals v. United States EPA, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12795, D. Or., 01/01/18
• Friends of Animals v. United States Fish & Wildlife Serv., 879 F.3d 1000, 9th Cir., 01/01/18
• Safari Club Int'l v. Zinke, 878 F.3d 316, D. D.C., 01/01/17
• Friends of Animals v. Pruitt, 258 F. Supp. 3d 91, D. D.C., 01/01/17
• PETPO v. United States Fish & Wildlife Serv., 852 F.3d 990, 10th Cir., 01/01/17
• Friends of Animals v. United States BLM, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 218070, D. Wy., 01/01/17
• Friends of Animals v. United States BLM, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37859, D. Or., 01/01/17
• Friends of Animals v. Haugrud, 236 F. Supp. 3d 131, D. D.C., 01/01/17
• Friends of Animals v. Phifer, 238 F. Supp. 3d 119, D. Maine, 01/01/17
• Friends of Animals v. United States BLM, 232 F. Supp. 3d 53, D. D.C., 01/01/17
• Friends of Animals v. Jewell, 824 F.3d 1033, D.C. Cir., 01/01/16