Christian Bucey Wins 2017 Michigan Bar Association’s Animal Welfare Award



By Jamie Nichols, '17

For the third consecutive year, an MSU Law student has received the State Bar of Michigan’s Wanda A. Nash Award for exceptional scholarship in animal welfare. This year’s winner is Christian Bucey, ‘17.

The award, named after the founder of the Animal Law Section of the State Bar, annually honors the J.D. candidate the Bar feels has exhibited the most influential work in the field of animal law. 

Bucey worked for the Animal Legal Defense Fund in Cotati, California, during the summer of 2016. He enjoys studying animal law, wildlife law, and international environmental law. The Nash award is the latest recognition he has received for extraordinary academic work. He also won the 2016 Burton D. Wechsler First Amendment Moot Court Competition in October with David Shaeffer, ’17, and Bucey and Kate Brindle (the 2016 Nash Award winner) were semi-finalists in the 2016 National Animal Law Moot Court competition.

“It’s an honor to win this award and to be even be nominated in the first place by Professor Favre,” says Bucey.  “The people who’ve won in the past, I admire them greatly, so it is an honor to be mentioned in the same sentence as them.”

“Christian ably represented the Law College in the National Animal Law Moot Court competition at Harvard,” said Favre. “When the animal law section of the State Bar had a conference, he was a presenter on a panel. He was shown engagement at a professional level with all that he has done.”

Bucey will take the California bar, and he plans to work with disadvantaged populations in pursuit of justice. “I believe I am drawn to working in public interest and advocating for those who otherwise would not be able to secure representation.”

Bucey will receive the award at a reception on Thursday, May 11 from 7-9 in the Castle Board Room at MSU Law.