Jim has been an avid animal lover his entire life and is thrilled to be able to use his legal knowledge and training to help those seeking accommodations to live with their animals. As an attorney, he has researched and litigated innumerable issues related to the rights of those with service animals and other assistance animals. He is a husband and parent of three children, three dogs, four birds and a hedgehog.
James M. Benson J.D. 1995; Co-Founder and General Counsel of US Service Animals; Founding Principal at James M. Benson, APLC
For folks who don’t suffer from a disability, it’s easy to take bodily and mental functionality for granted. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean disabled people are at a disadvantage–especially those who have service animals. If you’ve ever seen a dog wearing a vest in public, it was most likely a service animal, or a specially-trained […]
Michiganders with disabilities typically own a service animal who can help them do work or perform certain duties that make their daily life easier. But not just any animal can become a service animal; these unique animal caretakers often undergo extensive, rigorous training to help their human companions navigate these day-to-day tasks. Fortunately, there’s also […]
Animals are capable of some pretty amazing things, including taking care of their human owners. Service animals, as these caretaker animals are called, are specially-trained animals who can do work or perform specific tasks and duties for their disabled owners. But there’s more to this highly specific training than just teaching your dog a few […]
Cats have been with us since early civilization. It is one of the few animals that people throughout history have kept purely for affection and love. Unlike dogs, which were used for hunting or guarding, cats were merely pets to be pampered around the house. Cats are generally clean animals, and they are very loyal. […]
Wyoming is just one of the many states that follow the same law as the ADA when it comes to emotional support animal needs. Emotional support animals are not recognized in many states as needing the same protections as service animals. This means that if you live in Wyoming, you might experience some difficulty when […]
There are federal and state laws that apply to disabled handlers and their service dogs. Rights laid out by the ADA trump local laws in every case. […]
The process of getting an ESA Letter is simple. It starts with a consultation with a mental health professional in your state. […]
The laws in New York differ in some ways to the American’s with Disabilities Act which serves as the overarching law for America. States are allowed to have their own laws that are either the same, similar or different to the ADA. […]
There aren’t any significant differences between service animal laws in Florida from other states. They do take their service animal laws very seriously because they see many of them between locals and tourists […]
There are many laws and health regulations to review that effect whether or not your emotional support animal can receive access to your apartment complex’s pool area. […]
Airbnb is committed to making their service inclusive and accessible to all of their customers. They set clear expectations in their Nondiscrimination Policy for hosts regarding persons with disabilities, including the use of service animals. […]
Thousands of people every day are registering their emotional support animal online, but what are they really getting for their money? […]