The State Bar of Michigan Animal Law Section has named Elizabeth Livorine recipient of the first-ever Wanda A. Nash Award, presented to a law student in the state devoted to animal law.

A Wayne State University law student, Livorine was instrumental in starting a Student Animal Law Defense Fund Chapter at the school and has raised hundreds of dollars for the organization. She also attended the Animal Law Conference in Portland, Ore., in 2006 and 2007. She is a volunteer and foster at the Animal Welfare Society of Southeastern Michigan in Madison Heights and speaks to elementary school students about the value of animals and the humane treatment they deserve.

The award is named for Wanda A. Nash, an attorney and author who was a driving force behind the creation of the SBM Animal Law Section in 1995. Nash, who attended law school specifically to use the legal system to better the lives of animals, was the first chair of the group, which is considered to be the first statewide animal law section in the United States.

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