Document Not Available
for Nell Jessup Newton
Nell Jessup Newton
American
BiographyNell Jessup Newton is an American lawyer and a scholar in American Indian law. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in humanities from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1973, and her Juris Doctor from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, in 1976. At Hastings, she was a member of the Order of the Coif and the Thurston Society, and served as managing editor of the Hastings Law Journal.
Newton began her academic career at Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law, where she was the first woman to achieve tenure and be promoted to full professor. She later joined the faculty at Washington College of Law at American University in 1992. She has held deanships at several notable law schools, such as the University of Denver Sturm College of Law (1998), the University of Connecticut School of Law (2000), the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly Hastings College of Law), and Notre Dame Law School (2009-2019). She also served as interim dean at the University of Miami School of Law (2021-2022) and Wake Forest School of Law (2022-2023).
Newton is a leading scholar in American Indian law, focusing on tribal property and federal constitutional issues. She has authored numerous articles and co-authored textbooks on the subject. Notably, since 1998, she has served as the editor-in-chief of Cohen's Handbook of Federal Indian Law, considered the only comprehensive academic treatise on Federal Indian law. Her work has been reprinted in collections on race law, the law of reparations, and the philosophy of law. In 2025, she received the Mentoring in the Legal Academy Award by the AALS Section on Indian Nations and Indigenous Peoples, recognizing her significant contributions to mentoring in the field.
Sources:
Ebrahimi, T. (2024, August 5). Professor Nell J. Newton, Who Led Notre Dame Law School as Dean for 10 years, Named Interim Dean at Wake Forest School of Law. - Wake Forest Law. Wake Forest Law. https://law.wfu.edu/2022/08/professor-nell-j-newton-who-led-notre-dame-law-school-as-dean-for-10-years-was-named-interim-dean-at-wake-forest-school-of-law/
Marketing Communications: Web, University of Notre Dame. (2025, January 14). Rev. Patrick E. Reidy, C.S.C., and Nell Jessup Newton Receive AALS Section Awards | The Law School | University of Notre Dame. The Law School. https://law.nd.edu/news-events/news/rev-patrick-e-reidy-c-s-c-and-nell-jessup-newton-receive-aals-section-awards/
Mills, M. (n.d.). Cohen’s Handbook of Federal Indian Law. UW Law Digital Commons. https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/faculty-books/99/
Newton began her academic career at Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law, where she was the first woman to achieve tenure and be promoted to full professor. She later joined the faculty at Washington College of Law at American University in 1992. She has held deanships at several notable law schools, such as the University of Denver Sturm College of Law (1998), the University of Connecticut School of Law (2000), the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly Hastings College of Law), and Notre Dame Law School (2009-2019). She also served as interim dean at the University of Miami School of Law (2021-2022) and Wake Forest School of Law (2022-2023).
Newton is a leading scholar in American Indian law, focusing on tribal property and federal constitutional issues. She has authored numerous articles and co-authored textbooks on the subject. Notably, since 1998, she has served as the editor-in-chief of Cohen's Handbook of Federal Indian Law, considered the only comprehensive academic treatise on Federal Indian law. Her work has been reprinted in collections on race law, the law of reparations, and the philosophy of law. In 2025, she received the Mentoring in the Legal Academy Award by the AALS Section on Indian Nations and Indigenous Peoples, recognizing her significant contributions to mentoring in the field.
Sources:
Ebrahimi, T. (2024, August 5). Professor Nell J. Newton, Who Led Notre Dame Law School as Dean for 10 years, Named Interim Dean at Wake Forest School of Law. - Wake Forest Law. Wake Forest Law. https://law.wfu.edu/2022/08/professor-nell-j-newton-who-led-notre-dame-law-school-as-dean-for-10-years-was-named-interim-dean-at-wake-forest-school-of-law/
Marketing Communications: Web, University of Notre Dame. (2025, January 14). Rev. Patrick E. Reidy, C.S.C., and Nell Jessup Newton Receive AALS Section Awards | The Law School | University of Notre Dame. The Law School. https://law.nd.edu/news-events/news/rev-patrick-e-reidy-c-s-c-and-nell-jessup-newton-receive-aals-section-awards/
Mills, M. (n.d.). Cohen’s Handbook of Federal Indian Law. UW Law Digital Commons. https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/faculty-books/99/
Person TypeIndividual
