The Virginia Animal Law Society is an invaluable asset to the University of Virginia, as no classes in the area of animal law are offered at the school. The activities and projects organized by this group provide proactive opportunities for students to get hands-on experience with their specific career interests. They also connect students who are seriously interested in continuing to study animal law to other students and professionals in the field, developing a tight network of individuals who are pushing for the same cause.
The group works closely with the Animal Legal Defense Fund, a national animal advocacy group that has been fighting for the rights of animals since 1979; the Virginia Animal Law Society considers Animal Legal Defense to be its parent group. Much of the Virginia Animal Law Society's research has been initiated by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and then taken to a local Charlottesville attorney. Members of the Animal Legal Defense Fund have also visited and held informative presentations at the university.
After Rutmanis taught children overseas for two years, specifically in orphanages, and witnessed the horrors of child trafficking and neglect, she was driven to pursue a career that would enable her to change the lives of the children she met more than she could just by teaching them. When a member of her extended family was almost lost within the foster care system, Rutmanis realized that myriad children around the world needed someone to speak up for them. "I saw just how powerless kids swept up into that system can be and how badly they need advocates to speak and fight on their behalf," she said. Aiming toward a practice that focuses on the needs of children, as well as animals, Rutmanis hopes to satisfy her noble ambition to help those who cannot help themselves.
Through her internship and law schooling so far, Rutmanis has learned that it can be a bit of a struggle to remain in tune with public interest law work when a majority of emphasis is put on making lots of money and working for huge, powerful firms. She has discovered that you can find interesting and fulfilling work in a legal sector that helps others in need and still pay the bills.
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