About Us

Lawyers In Defense Of Animals, Inc. (LIDA) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation which has been working on behalf of animals in New Jersey since 1989.

"The animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with extension of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren; they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth."
Henry Beston
Outermost House, 1928
LIDA's members are lawyers, law students, and animal lovers who support the goals and philosophy of LIDA. The knowledge, integrity and tenacity of our members and their unwavering focus on the interest of the animal at issue has earned LIDA the respect of the animal legal community.

We have a working relationship with prosecutors, SPCA agents, municipal and county health departments, animal control officers, veterinarians, rescue groups and shelters throughout New Jersey.

Marie Ansari, one of LIDA's trustees, serves in the position of rescue liaison working to coordinate the efforts between LIDA and those doing rescue work. She assists them in making use of LIDA's resources and, in those instances in which LIDA's legal intervention results in it assuming guardianship of homeless animals, she works to maximize placement options.


A growing awareness of the rights of animals and a burgeoning recognition of animal law as a discipline has increased the ranks of attorneys who seek to handle major impact litigation. LIDA, through its participating attorneys, also welcomes and handles these matters. LIDA attorneys are unique, however, in their willingness to provide representation for the multitude of seemingly mundane matters which those who share their lives with animals will routinely confront. While incrementally advancing the cause of animal rights with each such case, the impact for the individual animal involved is monumental. For the dog on death row, the cat whose guardian is evicted, or the Trap Neuter Return (TNR) colony whose caretaker faces prosecution, LIDA's intervention often makes the difference between life and death.


The LIDA Trustees are made up of the following dedicated individuals:
©2007-2024 LIDA. Site by Sullivan Debiak.