James D. Nelson
Associate in Law
Education- B.A., with high distinction, University of Virginia, 2006
- J.D., Order of the Coif, University of Virginia School of Law, 2009
BiographyJames Nelson’s research and teaching interests include law and religion, freedom of speech, antidiscrimination law, corporations, and torts.
Nelson comes to Columbia Law School from the U.S. Department of Justice, where he served as a trial attorney in the Federal Programs Branch of the Civil Division. His work for the government focused on litigation involving the First Amendment, antidiscrimination law, foreign affairs, and privacy. Before joining the Department of Justice, Nelson clerked for Judge Jerry E. Smith on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. In law school, he served as editor-in-chief of the Virginia Law Review, and received the Roger and Madeleine Traynor writing prize and the Robert E. Goldsten Award for distinction in the classroom.
Publications
Incarceration, Accommodation, and Strict Scrutiny, 95 Va. L. Rev. 2053 (2009)
