In the fall semester’s waning moments, the University of Tennessee College of Law’s Transactional Law Clinic received a rather unusual request. The caller was in possession of stolen property and hoped the Legal Clinic could represent them.
The caller was April Hollingsworth, executive director of Fabled Farm Rescue & Sanctuary, a nonprofit animal rescue in Middle Tennessee “committed to accepting and placing unwanted equines, farm animals, and kittens in qualified, loving forever homes, while continuing to care for the unadoptable animals with medical or behavioral issues.” About a month before she contacted the clinic, Hollingsworth received a frantic call from a motel to pick up a sick lamb.
“We receive calls daily from people surrendering animals from very unusual situations,” said Hollingsworth, “so this honestly wasn’t the strangest story we had heard.” When Hollingsworth arrived at the motel, she quickly saw that the lamb, named Razzle, needed immediate help. After securing a signed contract from the person who claimed to own Razzle, Hollingsworth rushed Razzle back to Fabled Farm.
Hollingsworth could tell that Razzle had lacked proper care for some time. “[Razzle had] sores all over her legs from wearing [a] diaper. She had signs of vitamin deficiency. She had a failed hernia surgery and … didn’t know how to drink from a bottle properly.” Hollingsworth quickly began nursing Razzle back to health, bottle-feeding her every two hours, providing physical therapy twice a day, administering medications, and even adopting another lamb, Spree, so Razzle would have a friend throughout her recovery.
In the midst of Razzle’s recuperation, Fabled Farm received an email alleging that the person who donated Razzle did not have the legal right to do so. The sender claimed thousands of dollars in losses and demanded Razzle’s immediate return.
The law generally treats animals the same as any other type of property, such as a chair, book, or laptop–even a super cute lamb like Razzle. As a result, if the sender of that email was correct, Fabled Farm was in possession of stolen property.
“Razzle presented an unusual challenge for the Transactional Law Clinic,” said Eric Amarante, associate professor of law at Tennessee Law. The clinic provides free representation to nonprofit organizations and small businesses, giving students a chance to serve as lead counsel in non-litigation matters, which normally involves legal entity choice, drafting governance documents, securing intellectual property rights, or negotiating contracts.
“Although this was a dispute over property, which would normally be handled by a litigator, I thought Razzle’s saga offered an educationally rich opportunity and a chance for transactional students to engage in pre-litigation negotiations,” said Amarante. “And of course, we wanted to help Razzle.”
With the semester ending, Amarante sought a student attorney willing to work into the exam period. Sabrina Huston, a third-year law student in the Transactional Law Clinic, quickly volunteered.
Huston jumped into the representation, suggesting to Hollingsworth that the best way forward was to try to negotiate a purchase of Razzle. Despite the claim for thousands in damages, the market value for similar lambs was around $250. As Hollingsworth considered how much she’d be willing to pay (Hollingsworth used her own personal money, rather than asking Fabled Farm to contribute), Huston began to prepare for the negotiation.
As she prepared for an emotionally charged negotiation session, Huston recognized what she characterized as a “moral quandary.”
“Of course I thought Razzle was in a better situation. Our client spent thousands of dollars and countless hours nursing her back to health, and Razzle’s health problems were largely due to poor care and neglect. But at the same time, the opposing party was the legal owner and just wanted their lamb back. I feared that the law may not get it ‘right’ and Razzle may have to go back to an unhealthy place.” said Huston.
Hollingsworth decided on an amount she would be willing to pay, and Huston reached out to the opposing party. Huston crafted a negotiation strategy intended to address and honor the opposing party’s emotional investment in Razzle.
“I began with one of the techniques I learned from the negotiations section of our clinic class–I spoke first and asked the opposing party to tell her side of the story. I listened carefully and asked thoughtful follow-up questions. My goal was to foster understanding so I could find a mutually agreeable solution for both parties,” said Huston.
Even though Huston’s offer was a tiny fraction of the opposing party’s initial demand, they accepted. “The countless hours paid off,” said Huston. “I couldn’t wait to call our client.”
Upon hearing the news, Hollingsworth was elated and relieved. “We are thankful for Sabrina and Eric’s assistance in coming to a resolution. Sabrina demonstrated great communication skills right from the start by explaining the process, developing a strategy, and educating us on expectations for the situation,” said Hollingsworth. She was especially appreciative of Huston’s sensitivity with the matter, noting, “Sabrina was also very understanding of the emotional involvement we had in Razzle’s fate. We were very pleased with the level of communication, timeliness of documents being prepared, and seriousness with which the situation was handled because for Razzle, and for us, a life was truly at stake.”
Today Hollingsworth reports that Razzle is doing very well. “Razzle and her best friend, Spree, joined the Fabled Farm Sanctuary Program and are living their best lives,” said Hollingsworth. “They get lots of love from visitors, volunteers, and us daily.”
The experience helped Huston define the kind of attorney she hopes to be. “I learned the importance of building rapport not only with a client, but also with the opposing side. This creates the opportunity for productive conversation and eliminates unnecessary additional controversy.”
Huston does not regret taking on the extra work, even though it threatened to interfere with studying for final exams. “My time in the clinic did not end as expected,” said Huston, “it ended even better, with a fulfilling success. Sometimes, the most effective legal work is more about the willingness to listen and a genuine commitment to advocating for your client than technical expertise.”