Claire Loebs Davis is the founder and board president of Washington Wildlife First. She also founded and serves as the managing partner for Animal & Earth Advocates, a Seattle-area law firm that brings public interest litigation on behalf of animals, wildlife, and the environment.
Claire filed her first suit against the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (Department) in 2017, after it targeted the Sherman wolf pack for destruction. Since that time, much of her practice has been focused on holding the Department legally accountable. Claire has been appalled to discover the Department’s eagerness to allow the exploitation and destruction of wildlife in order to appease special interests; its readiness to sideline its scientists and retaliate against staff members who attempt internal reforms; and its willingness to mislead the public and skirt the boundaries of the law.
Claire founded Washington Wildlife First because she believes the state needs a strong watchdog organization to hold the Department accountable and to ensure that it fulfills its role as the trustee of the state’s wildlife on behalf of all current and future Washingtonians.
Claire came to the law after a first career in journalism. She founded and managed an independent student magazine while at The George Washington University, and interned as a reporter with CNN, the Bureau of National Affairs, and the Arizona Republic. Following college, Claire became an award-winning reporter for two newspapers in Pennsylvania.
After several years, Claire left journalism to attend the University of Michigan Law School. Following a clerkship with the federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Claire moved to Utah to serve as a legal consultant for Best Friends Animal Society, the country’s largest animal sanctuary and a leading national proponent of companion animal welfare. During her time at Best Friends, Claire participated in the Hurricane Katrina rescue effort, spending several weeks in Mississippi helping Alley Cat Allies rescue and care for cats after the storm, and devoting several months afterwards to efforts to reunite lost animals with their families.
In 2007, Claire joined the Seattle office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. She later became a partner at Lane Powell PC, where she started a practice group focused on wildlife and environmental litigation. Together with Ann Prezyna, Claire left Lane Powell in 2019 to form Animal & Earth Advocates.
Claire lives on Vashon Island with her son and partner. They share their lives with Dipper and Zelda, two rescued pit bull mixes, as well as Balthazar, a rooster rescued from a cockfighting ring, and rescued hens Pearl, Buckbeak, Flitchee, and Scrappy.
