February 17, 2023

Meet Animal Lawyer Lisa Carestia

Welcome to the second installment of our interview series with the people who power Barnett Law Office! Did you miss the first, with Anna Yendes? Check it out here.

We're so pleased to introduce you to Lisa Carestia, a lifelong animal lover, and competitive ice skater, who joined the firm in December 2022. 

Lisa came to Barnett Law Office after 15 years of practicing investment management law as in house counsel for investment managers. Then a series of deeply challenging personal and global events, including her sister's death by suicide, made Lisa reconsider her path. She left her job to travel, heal, see family and friends, and rediscover what matters in her life. 

Here, Lisa talks about finding purpose, and honoring her sister's memory, as an animal lawyer.

Were you always interested in animals? 

I grew up in Naperville, Illinois, a large suburb about 40 miles west of Chicago. I spent my entire childhood in Naperville and my parents are still there to this day in the house I grew up in. 

I grew up with small pets in my home (a rabbit, hamsters, and birds) and after a lot of convincing by me and my little sister, we finally got a dog when I was 11. She was a Shetland sheepdog named Cassie. She was with us until my first year of law school, passing away midway through my first year of studies. 

Even though we were young when we got Cassie, she taught me and my sister what it meant to love and care for a pet. I think I was always interested in animals as a child, but it wasn’t until we got Cassie that I really fell in love and discovered a deep passion for animals and their welfare.

It was during law school when I became involved in dog rescue, volunteering, transporting, and fostering after adopting my first personal dog, Millie, from Missouri Pit Bull Rescue.

You and Barnett Law Office founder Katie Barnett met through a dog, well before you joined the practice. How did that happen?

We did! During law school, when we adopted my dog, Millie, my husband and I established and maintained connections with pit bull rescues in Missouri and Kansas. For years, we would sponsor adoption fees, cover medical expenses, or assist in transporting dogs to their adoptive homes. 

One of the rescues we supported at the time sent out a plea for financial assistance as they had a puppy battling parvovirus. Katie and her husband happened to be the foster home in which this puppy was placed and the rest is history. 

We developed a friendship as a result of this rescue connection and I have been fortunate enough to be a part of their lives and their nonprofit initiatives over the last decade. To this day, I still support some of those same Missouri and Kansas rescues and shelters in addition to supporting my own local rescues and shelters. I will always hold a place in my heart for those good people who saved Millie and her family many years ago. 

We have assisted a lot of rescue and shelter animals over the years with medical treatment and care, and in more recent years, after losing two of our dogs (Millie and Bella) to cancer, have provided financial support to Live Like Roo, an organization that assists families facing cancer diagnoses in their pets.

Being an animal lawyer is your second career. What brought you here?

My path to Barnett Law Office is most definitely unusual, but those who know me well would not be surprised that I have made my way back to this area of the law. In law school, I had a deep interest and curiosity about animal law, but at that time, animal law was in the early years of becoming mainstream and the practical side of me made the decision to pursue a more traditional area of the law that aligned with my undergraduate studies. 

Like many in this world, the difficult events of the last several years—global pandemic, political division, racial injustice—left me to question and take stock of my own life. After much consideration, I left my last position at the end of 2020. I spent time visiting family and friends, and focused more on my mental and physical health. I was a competitive figure skater growing up. and returned to the ice and began coaching again.

In February of 2022, my life changed forever when we lost my little sister to suicide. My sister was a mental health professional with deep empathy for others that she exhibited from an early age. She transformed the lives of her clients and helped many find their voice. 

My sister was my strongest advocate and my compass when it came to navigating the decision to leave my job in 2020 and since her passing, has become my inspiration in everything I do. Barnett Law Office has given me the opportunity to honor the memory of my sister through impactful legal work and I am deeply grateful.

What are you most passionate about, as an animal lawyer? 

While my practice in this area has only just begun, as someone who has had pit bull type dogs in her life for the last 20 years, I am most passionate about advocating for these dogs and the people who care for them. 

I am also passionate about the animal shelter law work Barnett Law Office does. Animal sheltering involves a myriad of issues beyond the obvious intake and rehoming of pets. Animal shelters face a lot of the same challenges large corporations do, so having a corporate legal background has enabled me to transfer a lot of that knowledge and apply it to this new landscape. 

I am only just beginning my work with Barnett Law Office, but something about this work that really sticks with me already is the determination that not only we have in zealously representing our clients and advocating for them, but the passion and relentless pursuit of justice that our clients exhibit. 

Many animal law matters continue to be met with major headwinds by our justice system, but the clients we represent are collectively making positive changes in regard to how our courts of law treat animals. 

What else would you like people to know? 

It is never too late to change your life, pivot in your career, or start over. If you are on a path you don’t feel invested in or passionate about, look around, talk to others about their work, learn, immerse yourself in things that interest you. You never know who will open a door for you if you are too afraid to knock. 

Take chances. Do something that scares you. Oftentimes, on the other side of that fear is opportunity. 

I cannot conclude this discussion without expressing how

important mental health is for all of us. Due to misconceptions and stigma surrounding mental health issues, people often suffer in silence and don't seek treatment for their conditions. If you or someone you know is struggling emotionally, or has concerns about their mental health, there are resources out there to help. Please visit the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).