People

Mary Hollingsworth, Visiting Clinical Professor and Clinical Director of Harvard Law School’s Animal Law & Policy Clinic was formerly a senior trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, Wildlife and Marine Resources Section, where she has worked since 2011. She has more than a decade of experience litigating cases arising under the Endangered Species Act in federal courts across the country.

At the Department of Justice, Hollingsworth led efforts to enforce the civil components of federal animal welfare statutes, including in United States v. Lowe, United States v. Gingerich, and United States v. Envigo.

Hollingsworth twice received the John Marshall Award for Asset Forfeiture. In 2023, she was recognized for her role in the Lowe litigation, which resulted in Jeffrey and Lauren Lowe permanently losing their interests in over 130 federally protected animals, and, in 2017, she was honored for developing and implementing a strategy for pursuing civil forfeiture actions to transfer ownership of dogs seized from those suspected of engaging in illegal dogfighting operations. Her other awards include the 2021 USDA General Counsel Award for outstanding DOJ attorney and a 2022 Assistant Attorney General Award for Excellence. Mary has taught animal welfare law at Vermont Law School.

She received a B.A. in Political Science and Russian & East European Studies from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from the University of Arizona College of Law. After law school, she clerked for Justice Michael Ryan of the Arizona Supreme Court and Judge Murray Snow of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona before joining the U.S. Department of Justice through the Honors Program.