(New Orleans, LA/August 28, 2012) Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC, has been named the 2011 Advancement in Animal Law Pro Bono Achievement Award winner by the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF).
Over the last two years, Baker Donelson attorneys have provided assistance to the ALDF in its efforts to secure the release of a Siberian-Bengal tiger. "Tony the Truck Stop Tiger" has been confined as a roadside exhibit at a Louisiana truck stop for more than ten years. Last year, a permanent injunction was granted against the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries preventing it from renewing the truck stop owner's annual permit when it expired at the end of 2011. Since that time, the truck stop owner has filed separate litigation in an effort to keep Tony at the truck stop. Baker Donelson is continuing to assist ALDF in its fight to free Tony.
The case has galvanized the ALDF's membership, and the Firm's support, experience and commitment of pro bono hours is helping the ALDF achieve its mission of protecting the lives and advancing the interests of animals through the legal system.
Through its commitment to pro bono representation, Baker Donelson provides legal services to groups and individuals likely to be marginalized in the legal system due to economic barriers. Over the years, the Firm's attorneys have provided a variety of counsel to many populations, including immigrants, refugees, the elderly and the impoverished. Baker Donelson's efforts include work on a wide range of matters, such as advocating for the homeless and organizations that serve the homeless, death penalty litigation, providing corporate legal services to non-profit organizations and much more.
Additional information on Baker Donelson's Pro Bono efforts is available at http://www.bakerdonelson.com/pro-bono.
A national, non-profit organization, the ALDF was founded in 1979 by attorneys in the field of animal law pursuing the enforcement of anti-cruelty laws and humane treatment of animals. For more information, please visit www.aldf.org.