Susan P. Witkin

Susan serves as Chair of the Education Subcommittee of the New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Animals and the Law (COAL). In this role, she organizes and develops content for the Committee’s CLE programs. Recent programs include sessions featuring foreign attorneys discussing animal law in Canada and the United Kingdom, as well as a four-hour program on Avian Law addressing a broad range of legal issues affecting birds and their protection. She also moderated the Committee’s recent program on Pet Trusts. (These programs are available on demand through the NYSBA’s website.)

Susan is an active member of the New York City Bar Association’s Animal Law Committee and recently hosted a podcast interview with attorneys from the Nonhuman Rights Project, available on the NYCBA’s website. Her professional and volunteer activities reflect a long-standing commitment to animal welfare, including issues related to animal agriculture.

She serves as volunteer counsel to The Animal Defense Partnership, providing pro bono legal services to the organization and the animal welfare groups it supports. Susan also acts as pro bono counsel to Ruff House Rescue, Inc., a Long Island and Texas–based animal rescue organization, advising on matters including tax, litigation, and governance. In addition, she provides corporate and tax assistance to the Linnaean Society.

Over many years, Susan has participated in a wide range of pro bono matters. Recent work includes preparing amicus briefs in the Happy the Elephant habeas corpus litigation in support of the Nonhuman Rights Project’s appeal to the New York Court of Appeals; assisting with an election-related project focused on voting rights protections; serving as mediator or counsel for low-income New York City residents seeking divorces through the New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG); helping Holocaust survivors pursue compensation for forced labor performed in Nazi Germany; and assisting an indigent individual with the appeal of a sentence related to a drug-related parole violation.

Susan has also served as a member of the New York City Planned Giving Advisory Council of the American Cancer Society, which provides guidance to gift planning professionals on estate planning, charitable planned giving, and related issues, as well as educational support for donors.

Outside of her legal work, Susan is an avid scuba diver and traveler and enjoys yoga, as well as Latin, ballroom, and West Coast Swing dancing. She is a nature and wildlife enthusiast who enjoys gardening, bird-watching, and hiking. Susan has had a lifelong interest in astronomy and stargazing and, during the COVID period, completed astronomy coursework at the Vanderbilt Museum on Long Island comparable to a college-level course. With an academic background in chemistry, she also maintains a strong interest in developments in medicinal and biomedical research. Susan is the devoted owner of two companion dogs, one of whom was adopted through client Ruff House Rescue.