Our Team
LITIGATION EXPERIENCE
Our team offers more than a combined 35 years of litigation experience.
Ryther Law Group proudly serves Los Angeles, San Diego, Palm Desert, Orange County, Ventura County, Riverside County, and surrounding areas in Southern California.
Jill L. Ryther, Esq., Founder and Managing Partner
Jill founded RLG in 2009, and immediately began an impressive legal career that involved her work successfully defending well known animal rights activists, working with animal rights educator, Ric O’Barry in Taiji, Japan, to bring awareness to the dolphin slaughter (documented in The Cove), and successfully litigating against corporate giants like PetSmart and Costco for their mistreatment of animals. Additionally, Jill has successfully represented human companions of dogs that were shot and killed by police officers and achieved the first CA settlement ever to require officers to receive training on dog behavior and non-lethal methods.
Jill has 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. And she campaigned in West Hollywood to outlaw the sale of fur within the city limits.
In recent years, Jill has led Ryther Law Group in noteworthy lawsuits against additional corporate giants, such as PetsMart, Rover.com, and Pet’s Only Cremations, and has initiated multiple lawsuits against various cities and animal control agencies across the state of California for violating the rights of animal families, successfully advocating for the return of dogs to their families and achieving compensation for her clients. Jill currently serves as regular counsel for well-known rescues across the state, and continues to expose fraudulent veterinarians for their mistreatment of animals.
Jill has also litigated many death row cases against various animal control agencies, bringing incarcerated animals back to their families, as well as successfully filed false advertising lawsuits against companies, veterinarians, and sham rescue organizations for publicly stating they treat animals one way, and behind closed doors treating them another.
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’s Bar Admissions:
State Bar of California
United States District Court for the Central District of California
United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
United States District Court for the Southern District of California
Sarah A. Thompson, Partner
Sarah A. Thompson joined Ryther Law Group in 2022, bringing substantial litigation skills and experience from her work in family law.
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 the firm, Sarah practiced family law in both San Francisco and Los Angeles. Sarah also taught Legal Drafting as an adjunct faculty member at USF for two years.
Additionally, Sarah has been selected as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers for four years in a row (2020 through 2023), 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.
Sarah has also appeared on radio and YouTube interviews recently concerning animal rights. In addition, Sarah is currently obtaining an LLM (a Masters in Law) in Animal Law from Lewis & Clark Law School.
Sarah is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and Beverly Hills Bar Association.
Sarah enjoys yoga, cooking (as a proud vegan), wine tasting, and travel, as well as hiking with her three rescue wolfdogs – Nola, Roku, and Rhea. Sarah also supports various animal rescues. Having a special affinity for wolfdogs, she volunteers with Apex Protection Project, including sponsoring a wolfdog yearly, assisting with legal issues, and reviewing foster, adoption, and surrender applications. In addition, Sarah and her husband have just opened an animal advocacy and sanctuary nonprofit organization, Red Wolf Rescue.
Sarah works with Jill as a rescue partner and attorney with Expand Animal Rights Now.
Our Support Team
Christina Haselbusch
BILLING SPECIALIST
Christina has been with RLG since the beginning! Her background includes over 30 years of administrative experience. You can find her in the back office making sure the RLG engine is running smoothly.
Christina was born & raised in Los Angeles and doesn't plan to leave. She has a love for animals big and small and a heart for the special needs community. She is an active volunteer for a handful of organizations and programs that serve the families in this community. You can find her spending time with her special needs son playing football, ice skating, and enjoying the simple things. She loves the outdoors and spending time with family and her rescued pitbull, Sara.
Samantha Henderson
PARALEGAL
In 2021, Samantha began working for Ryther Law Group as an administrative assistant. After working alongside Jill these past few years, Samantha quickly realized that she was inspired by Animal Law and what Ryther Law Group was doing for the animal community and wanted to become more involved. Samantha has become more hands on in her role in assisting local rescues and fosters and has found her passion in caring for these animals who have been given a second chance. This past year, Samantha decided to further her education and obtained her paralegal certificate in May 2023.
When Samantha is not working, you can usually find her spending time outdoors and working out. Samantha particularly enjoys hiking with her 11-year-old fur daughter, Charlie.
Ayana Garcia
VETERINARY MEDICINE CONSULTANT
Ayana is a passionate animal welfare advocate and aspiring lawyer. She originally wanted to become a veterinarian and began volunteering at shelters and rescues at the age of 16. She worked as a vet tech to gain experience in the field and ventured into specialty medicine for the last 3 years. However, during her time working in specialty medicine, she discovered her love for animal welfare law and decided to switch her major. Ayana is set to graduate this year with a degree in English and Literature with a minor in Anthropology and plans to apply to law school.
Aside from her interest in animal welfare, Ayana also enjoys music, fashion, interior design, and travel. In her free time, she loves thrifting and trying out new food, and her favorite place to be is at the beach.
Lindsey Hawlish
CERTIFIED PARALEGAL
Lindsey was born and raised in the Coachella Valley, and practically grew up helping in the law firm her mother manages in Palm Desert. Lindsey graduated with a B.A. in Organizational Communication from California State University, Sacramento and subsequently attended and received her ABA Approved Paralegal Certificate from University of San Diego in 2011. Lindsey has worked for civil litigation firms most of her career, along with 3 years criminal defense work in Orange County, and most recently 2.5 years on the prosecution side at the County of Riverside District Attorney’s office.
Lindsey and her family are huge animal lovers and have rescued several animals over the years; she, her husband, and three young children love spending time with their two dogs, two cats and their pet lizard! It has been a lifelong passion for Lindsey to serve her community and she believes protecting the rights of animals and their people is her calling.
Marc Robinson
ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING CONSULTANT (ANIMAL CONTROL DEFENSE) AND LITIGATION SUPPORT
Marc Robinson is a member of the New York bar and provides litigation support for California cases at RLG. He has been working with Jill since 2017.
Marc's specialty is dangerous dog cases, covering many SoCal jurisdictions. He provides litigation support to the firm on various veterinarian malpractice, custody, and neglect/abuse cases and works with many of the rescue entities the firm represents. Marc is also on the Board of Directors of Wags and Walks rescue.
Before joining RLG, Marc was in the business and publishing worlds. He was on a team of information architecture pioneers in the ‘80s; was a long-time creative director/partner in a NYC advertising/marketing/branding agency; and Founder/CEO of a startup that created cash back for 401(k) plans. He has written more than 25 personal finance books that have sold more than four million copies; a children’s book; and coffee table books for The Wall Street Journal’s 100th anniversary and NBC’s 75th anniversary.
Marc has been a featured speaker at national conferences for the retirement and payroll industries. In 2005, he was named to the White House Conference on Aging. He was a registered investment advisor functioning as a fiduciary advisor to 401(k) and 403(b) plan sponsors, and he remains a registered agent for life, health, and long-term care insurance.
The black sheep of his family as the only one not in entertainment, Marc is married to a superwoman and has two creatively gifted, inspiring children. He has a rescue pup who follows him every second as if on constant surveillance duty, and another he loves everlasting as she sits in a box on a shelf by his desk.
Amanda Fortino
NON-PROFIT DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR AND PARALEGAL
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.