Daniel Timins is a Trusts & Estates and Elder Law attorney licensed to practice law in the state of New York. Dan helps people draft Wills and Trusts, with a focus on helping people plan for receiving Medicaid benefits and transferring cooperative apartments into trust, help clients save money on estate taxes, and assists client in need of Probate and other court procedures. Dan is a frequent speaker of these topics for the public, Fortune 500 companies and not-for-profits, has taught over 100 hours of continuing legal education to Bar associations, law schools and national CLE providers, and is a frequent blogger and video presenter.
Elizabeth Rumley is a senior staff attorney at the National Agricultural Law Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas. At the Center, her primary research and scholarship focus is on legal issues in animal agriculture, and she frequently lectures on those issues and others to audiences nationwide. She has co-taught a course covering “Animals and Agricultural Production, Law and Policy” at the University of Nebraska College of Law and has developed and is teaching a graduate/undergraduate level course on legal issues in animal agriculture at the University of Arkansas. Additionally, she teaches a course on Environmental Law in the Bumpers College. She is licensed to practice law in Michigan, Ohio, and Oklahoma after earning her B.A. from Michigan State University, her J.D. cum laude from the University of Toledo College of Law, and her LL.M. in Agricultural Law from the University of Arkansas School of Law.
Tiffany Lashmet is an Associate Professor & Extension Agricultural Law Specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Tiffany’s work focuses on legal issues affecting rural landowners and agricultural producers. She hosts the award-winning Ag Law in the Field Podcast & authors the award-winning Texas Agriculture Law Blog.
Stephanie Bradley Fryer is an associate attorney with Rincker Law, PLLC and owns her own firm Stephanie Bradley Fryer PLLC in her home state of Texas. She is licensed to practice law in Texas where she assists clients with estate planning, farm and ranch leases, business law, and other agricultural legal issues. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Stephanie was County Executive Director with the USDA Farm Service Agency in Floyd County Texas.
Stephanie attended Texas A&M University where she received a B.S. in Animal Science, a M.S. in Agricultural Economics with a focus in Land Economics and Real Estate, and a J.D. from TAMU School of Law.
Shahrina Ankhi-Krol is the owner of Ankhi-Krol Law (ankhikrollaw.com), a boutique law firm New York City. She works exclusively with entrepreneurs and small business owners in the following areas of law – business, contract, trademark, and copyright – throughout the country. She has been selected Rising Star Super Lawyer, a recognition given to no more than 2.5% of attorneys in each state, each year – for six (6) consecutive years. She has given countless talks and presentations at business conferences, expositions, and world-renowned educational institutions.
Rusty Rumley is a Senior Staff Attorney at the National Agricultural Law Center. He graduated magna cum laude from Oklahoma State University in 2004 with a B.S. in Agribusiness and in 2007 earned his juris doctor from the University of Oklahoma. After law school, Rusty earned his LL.M in Agricultural Law at the University of Arkansas. He is licensed to practice law in the states of Oklahoma and Michigan. Rusty has published law review articles on a variety of ag and environmental law topics. He has also written on landowner liability, agritourism, food labeling, local food production, business organizations, crop insurance, estate planning, leasing, industrial hemp, and other land use topics in his work at the Center. Further, Rusty presents around the country to producer, consumer, extension, industry, and legal groups on an array of topics.
As the founder and Executive Director of Farm Commons, Rachel Armstrong creates the organization’s innovative approach to farm law education and risk reduction. Her vision for changing the way consumers experience business law has been awarded with two prestigious fellowships: a 2012 Echoing Green Global Fellowship and a 2018 Ashoka Fellowship. As leading authority on direct-to-consumer farm law she has authored dozens of publications on farm law matters for farmers, alongside several academic and trade publications for attorneys. Ms. Armstrong instructs continuing legal education classes for the American Bar Association, teaches farm law for the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and is a co-author of “Farmers’ Guide to Business Structures,” published by Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education. A graduate of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and the University of Wisconsin Madison, she lives in Northern Minnesota with her husband and three young children.
As a farm girl and estate planning attorney, Polly Dobbs (Dobbs Legal Group, LLC, Peru, Indiana, https://dobbslegal.com/) is passionate about helping farm families with succession planning. Polly helps clients to efficiently transfer their assets to the next generation in a way that promotes family harmony and addresses their specific goals while treating family members fairly, even though not necessarily equally. She uses many sophisticated estate and gift planning strategies while working with her clients to achieve wealth preservation, understand probate and trust administration, gives federal and state tax advice, and helps with matters relating to business organization, business succession planning, and general business and corporate transactions. Polly is a member of the Farm Journal Legacy Project Advisory Team.
Brianna grew up on a family farm in northeastern Indiana. She is an attorney with the firm, Janzen Agricultural Law LLC, and now focuses her legal practice working for farmers and agribusinesses. Brianna has litigated complex environmental and agricultural matters, including insurance coverage, regulatory compliance, tort claims, zoning appeals, and employment claims. Brianna also negotiates and drafts contracts for agricultural companies and farms, including farm leases, employment agreements, sales agreements, and privacy contracts. She is licensed in Indiana and Illinois and has represented a wide variety of clients from start-up companies and livestock farmers to large agricultural businesses, trade groups, and municipalities.
Pat is a lawyer to support a farming habit in northeast Iowa. Pat and his wife Jill own and operate Dillon Law PC which represents rural Iowans in many aspects of the legal system they commonly face, from real estate, taxation and probate to bankruptcy and small business formation. Pat is also council to several small towns that you may not have heard about and Jill is an assistant county attorney.
Lauren Handel is the principal attorney at Handel Food Law LLC, a law firm focused exclusively on food, farming, and alcoholic beverage businesses. Her practice includes regulatory compliance and enforcement actions, commercial contracts, intellectual property, and litigation. Lauren is based in northern New Jersey, and admitted to practice in New Jersey, New York and Maryland.
Jesse Haskins started J. Haskins Law, P.A. to focus on local food communities. Prior to dedicating his practice to local agriculture, Jesse served as assistant attorney general for the State of Florida, assistant general counsel for the Florida Department of Financial Services, and as attorney for a large insurance defense firm. Jesse graduated from the Duke University School of Law in 2009. His favorite ingredient is tahini.
Todd J. Janzen is an attorney and co-founder of Janzen Agricultural Law LLC, a law firm dedicated to serving the needs of farmers, ag technology providers, and agribusinesses. Todd also serves as the Administrator for the Ag Data Transparent project, a national effort to bring transparency to contracts between farmers and technology providers. Todd has testified before the US Senate and US House subcommittees on issues concerning ag data collection, privacy, and technology. Todd grew up on a grain and livestock farm in Kansas. Todd served as the chairs of the American Bar Association’s Agricultural Management Committee and the Indiana State Bar Association’s Ag Law Section. Todd acts as the general counsel to the Indiana Dairy Producers. Todd publishes a nationally recognized ag technology blog, the Janzen Ag Tech Blog.
Laura Vaught is an associate attorney at the law firm of Kious Rodgers Barger Holder & King, PLLC in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where she practices in the areas of real estate, general business, estate planning, and probate. Laura grew up on a dairy farm in Lascassas, Tennessee, and studied animal science and agricultural communications before attending law school. She joined private practice following a two-year fellowship in the Tennessee Governor’s Office. As a Governor’s Fellow, Laura served in the Department of Agriculture on agribusiness and rural development initiatives, including managing the Agriculture Enterprise Fund and supporting the Governor’s Rural Task Force.
Greg Smith is a partner with Conger and Smith in Bainbridge, Georgia. His practice focuses on real estate transactions, criminal appellate work, and all matters related to agriculture and food production. Mr. Smith is also a partner in Eldorendo Farms, a row-cropping operation based in Eldorendo, Georgia, and Recovery Medical, a first-year hemp production operation based in Faceville, Georgia.
Chelsea Good is the Vice President of Government and Industry Affairs and Legal at Livestock Marketing Association. LMA is the Kansas City based trade organization representing livestock auctions across the United States. Chelsea advocates for the interests of livestock auctions, often called sale barns, in federal, state, and industry policy. Prior to joining LMA, Chelsea worked at the Kansas Department of Agriculture as a staff attorney focused on animal health division legal and policy work.
Dr. Marne Coit, JD, LLM, is a faculty member in the Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics at NC State University. Her teaching and research is in food, agriculture, and hemp law. She is a part of the Extension hemp team at NC State.
Missy Greathouse is the executive director of Dispute Resolution Institute, Inc. (DRI), a nonprofit with a mission to help people in conflict find common ground, resolve disputes, and reach agreement. DRI currently administers mediation programs both in and outside of the court system throughout the State of Illinois. Missy is a licensed attorney, mediator, trainer, social worker, and an adjunct clinical assistant professor at Southern Illinois University School of Law. She received a Bachelor of Science in Social Work from Saint Louis University, and a Juris Doctor degree from Southern Illinois University School of Law.
Jesse Haskins started J. Haskins Law, P.A. to focus on local food communities. Prior to dedicating his practice to local agriculture, Jesse served as assistant attorney general for the State of Florida, assistant general counsel for the Florida Department of Financial Services, and as attorney for a large insurance defense firm. Jesse graduated from the Duke University School of Law in 2009. His favorite ingredient is tahini.