Bruce A. Wagman

Bruce Wagman is a lawyer with Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila.

For over three decades, Bruce Wagman has been using his legal education and well-honed skills to help animals all over the world, in ways that have benefitted both society and the animals themselves. He is the only lawyer running an exclusive animal law practice in a major United States firm. He litigates, drafts animal-friendly legislation, oversees rescue and sanctuary operations, consults clients who care for and protect animals, and teaches animal law courses in three law schools. He has published two major works, the leading casebook for law schools nationwide -- Animal Law: Cases and Materials -- and a global survey of animal laws, A Worldview of Animal Law. Bruce runs the San Francisco SPCA's Shelter Policy and Legal Services program, a unique legal advocacy program that provides pro bono legal services to shelters and rescues throughout the state of California, and engages actively in policy work, drafting and supporting legislative change for all companion animals in California.  Bruce also founded Project Chimps, a chimpanzee sanctuary that is home to nearly 100 chimpanzees retired from a research laboratory.

Bruce’s practice covers a broad range of animal-related legal issues -- including cases involving the use of animals in entertainment, biomedical research, and animal agriculture/food production, and he also focuses on shelter animal welfare, animal cruelty, and wildlife protection. He has a long history of representing clients in wide-ranging “impact litigation,” but he also loves to work with individuals on cases involving dog bites, animal custody disputes, and injuries to, and caused by, animals. He has been involved in litigation at every level, from administrative hearings to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Bruce’s clients include numerous animal protection organizations as well as private individuals. He has worked on behalf of many species, including alpacas, bears, birds, burros, cats, chickens, chinchillas, chimpanzees, cows, deer, dogs, dolphins, ducks, elephants, elk, ferrets, geese, goats, gorillas, horses (domestic and wild), lions, mice, monkeys, pigs, rabbits, raccoons, squirrels, sharks, turkeys, whales, and wolves.