OUR TEAM

Jill Ryther — CEO/Founder

Jill Ryther is the Founder and CEO of Expand Animal Rights Now (EARN) and an attorney specializing in Animal Rights Litigation.

Jill grew up in Michigan and graduated with honors from the University of Michigan, receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree with a dual specialization in Political Science and English, along with a minor in Political Philosophy. While attending the University of Michigan, Jill was a member of many campus organizations and was the recipient of several distinguished scholarship and achievement awards. After graduating, Jill worked at a prestigious family law firm, Oyler and Woldman, in Santa Monica, California.

Jill subsequently attended UCLA School of Law, where she was President of the Mock Trial Association and won several awards in multiple competitions. Jill also served as the Communications Director for the Animal Law Society, and was featured in several newspapers and radio shows as the campus administrator for the Yes on Prop 2 Campaign. While in law school, Jill worked as a law clerk for the Los Angeles District Attorney in the Hardcore Gang Division for three years, conducting preliminary hearings in the courtroom and assisting in several murder jury trials against various Los Angeles gang members.

At UCLA, Jill took a class, “Animals and the Law” that changed her life. It was then that Jill realized she could combine her legal education with her love of animals to make a career out of ending the animal exploitation by being an activist attorney. Jill regularly speaks at conferences, law schools, and other events about her experience with animals and the law.

During her early career, Jill successfully defended well known animal rights activists, worked with animal rights educator, Ric O’Barry in Taiji, Japan to bring awareness to the dolphin slaughter (documented in The Cove), and worked with the Beagle Freedom Project on several rescues including the rescue of 41 Beagles from a laboratory in Spain. Jill has saved many dogs from dangerous dog hearings. She has successfully represented human companions of dogs that were injured by police officers. And she campaigned in West Hollywood to outlaw the sale of fur within the city limits.

Jill does not shy away from cases that are the first of their kind, and is known for getting judges as well as opposing attorneys to see animals as they truly are: not mere property as the law declares, but as the sentient family members that so many of us love and protect.

Jill is a proud long-time vegan and shares her home with two rescue dogs, one rescued off the streets in Texas, the other who was born just days after Jill pulled his mother out of Devore shelter where she was on the euthanasia list, and a rescue cat who was found as a kitten in a construction site.

Sarah A. Thompson

Sarah works with EARN in a legal capacity and as a rescue partner. Sarah joined Ryther Law Group in 2022, bringing substantial litigation skills and experience from her work in family law. She became a Partner in 2024.

Sarah grew up in Orange County, California and attended Villanova University, graduating magna cum laude with a major in Sociology and minors in French and Political Science in 2012. She earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of San Francisco School of Law (“USF”), graduating with honors in 2015, and earning numerous merit awards, including awards in Administrative Law, Family Law, and Evidence. At USF, Sarah obtained a certificate in Public Interest Law, in part due to her volunteer work with the San Francisco SPCA. All of her legal internships focused on public interest, including internships with Legal Advocates for Children and Youth, the Dependency Team with the Office of the City Attorney of San Francisco, and USF’s Criminal Law Clinic. During law school, Sarah also participated in the Intensive Advocacy Program where she learned essential trial skills from premier litigators and judges from across the county.

Before joining RLG and EARN, Sarah practiced family law for five years in both San Francisco and Los Angeles. Sarah also taught Legal Drafting as an adjunct faculty member at USF for two years. Sarah came to the firm with significant courtroom and trial experience, mostly in domestic violence restraining order matters. (In fact, as a certified law clerk, Sarah won her first two trials while still in law school.)

Additionally, Sarah has been selected as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers for five years in a row (2020 through 2024), an independent, peer-ranking board established by Los Angeles Magazine, and she has been a frequent contributor to legal journals. For instance, the Los Angeles Daily Journal published a few of Sarah’s articles, including “Supplemental Discovery Requests: An underused tool in an era of delay” in 2020. 

Since joining the team, Sarah has been lead attorney in many trials and administrative hearings, such as two trials where she successfully prevented the euthanasia of our client’s canine companions after bite incidents, multiple successful domestic violence restraining order trials, and a three-week jury trial in August 2023, where Sarah won punitive damages and emotional distress damages in a veterinary malpractice matter, an exceptionally rare result.

Sarah has also appeared on radio, news, and YouTube interviews concerning animal rights and her various cases. Most recently, Sarah was instrumental in securing the safe release of 29 wolf dogs from the City of Barstow and Shasta County.

Sarah is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association (and the Animal Law Section), Beverly Hills Bar Association, and Riverside County Bar Association. And Sarah is currently obtaining an LLM (a Masters in Law) in Animal Law from Lewis & Clark Law School. 

Sarah enjoys yoga, cooking (as a proud vegan), wine tasting, and travel, as well as hiking with her three rescue wolf dogs – Roku, Rhea, and Attis. Sarah also supports various animal rescues. Having a special affinity for wolf dogs, she volunteers with Apex Protection Project, including sponsoring a wolf dog yearly, assisting with legal issues, and reviewing foster, adoption, and surrender applications. Sarah and her husband have just opened an animal advocacy and sanctuary nonprofit organization, Red Wolf Rescue.

AMANDA FORTINO

Amanda graduated with honors from Grand Valley State University, receiving her Bachelor’s of Arts in Political Science, with a minor in Writing, and has been advocating for animals professionally for well over a decade. With experience as both a paralegal and fundraiser, she has worked in the nonprofit sector nearly 20 years. Amanda is thrilled to be a part of EARN, as her true passion is helping both animals and the humans who love them. 

Amanda enjoys hiking, fostering animals, traveling, and reading. Amanda volunteers with local animal rescue groups and lives with her partner and rescued cat. She remains an activist at heart and can be found volunteering for animal rights groups and rescuing companion animals.