The Association of American Law Schools (AALS) is proud to announce the winners of its 2026 section awards.
The awards are hosted by several of the association’s 108 sections organized around various academic disciplines and topics of interest. This year’s winners will be acknowledged at the awards ceremony during the 2026 AALS Annual Meeting on January 9.
“AALS sections are important communities that create spaces where law school faculty and staff connect, share ideas, and advance scholarship and pedagogy in their fields,” said Austen Parrish, AALS President and Dean and Chancellor’s Professor of Law at the University of California, Irvine School of Law. “The inspiring individuals recognized this year with section awards are fabulous leaders, teachers, and scholars, and the programs and institutions honored are so well deserving. As we mark the association’s 125th anniversary, it’s appropriate to pause to highlight excellence and leadership in legal education, and I’m looking forward to congratulating this year’s award honorees for their significant contributions at our Annual Meeting.”
The 2026 AALS section award winners are:
Section on Academic Support Impact Award
Kelly K. Curtis, Syracuse University College of Law
Section on Academic Support Legacy in Leadership Award
Antonia Miceli, Arizona State University, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Section on Administrative Law Emerging Scholars Award for Outstanding Scholarly Publication
Adam Crews, Rutgers Law School
Section on Aging and the Law Emerging Scholar Award
James Toomey, University of Iowa College of Law
Section on Aging and the Law Lifetime Achievement Award
Nancy J. Knauer, Temple University, James E. Beasley School of Law
Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution Best Scholarly Article Award
Rachel J. Wechsler, University of Missouri School of Law
Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution New Voices in Dispute Resolution
Rebecca Donaldson, Marquette University Law School
Nicolás Parra-Herrera, University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law
Section on Animal Law Excellence in Animal Law: Scholarship-Teaching-Service Award
Matthew Liebman, University of San Francisco School of Law
Section on Art Law Scholarship Award
Jennifer C. Lena, Teachers College, Columbia University
Brian Soucek, University of California, Davis, School of Law
Section on Balance & Well-Being in Legal Education Annual Award
R. Lisle Baker, Suffolk University Law School
Section on Civil Procedure Junior Scholarship Award
Rachel Bayefsky, University of Virginia School of Law
Honorable Mention: Payvand Ahdout, University of Virginia School of Law
Honorable Mention: Riley Keenan, University of Richmond School of Law
Honorable Mention: Miyoko T. Pettit-Toledo, University of Hawai‘i, William S. Richardson School of Law
Section on Clinical Legal Education Impact on the Externship Field Award
Susan B. Schechter, University of California, Berkeley School of Law
Section on Clinical Legal Education Shanara Gilbert Award
Norrinda Brown, Fordham University School of Law
Section on Clinical Legal Education Professor Susan Jones Paper Competition Award
Gowri J. Krishna, Fordham University School of Law
Section on Clinical Legal Education Stephen Ellmann Memorial Clinical Scholarship Award
Jeffrey R. Baker, University of Alabama School of Law
Lisa R. Bliss, Georgia State University College of Law
Timothy W. Floyd, Mercer University School of Law
Section on Commercial and Consumer Law Award
Adam J. Levitin, Georgetown University Law Center
Section on Commercial and Consumer Law Juliet Moringiello Mentorship Award
David J. Reiss, Cornell Law School
Elizabeth Warren, Harvard Law School (Emeritus)
Section on Commercial and Consumer Law Scholarship Award
Nancy B. Rapoport, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law
Section on Comparative Law Mark Tushnet Prize in Comparative Law
Jonathan Green, Arizona State University, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Section on Criminal Procedure Junior Scholars Paper Competition Award
Rebecca Talbott, University of San Diego School of Law
Runner-Up: Jacob Schuman, Temple University, James E. Beasley School of Law
Section on East Asian Law and Society Jerome A. Cohen Lifetime Achievement Award
William P. Alford, Harvard Law School
Section on Election Law Distinguished Scholarship Award
John J. Martin, Quinnipiac University School of Law
Section on Election Law John Hart Ely Prize in the Law of Democracy
Samuel Issacharoff, New York University School of Law
Section on Empirical Study of Legal Education and the Legal Profession Judith Welch Wegner Award
Elizabeth E. Mertz, American Bar Foundation & University of Wisconsin Law School
Jessica Steinberg, The George Washington University Law School
Aviva Orenstein, Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Section on Family and Juvenile Law Achievement Award
Robin A. Lenhardt, Georgetown University Law Center
Section on Family and Juvenile Law Emerging Scholars Paper Award
Anna Arons, St. John’s University School of Law
Danielle Wingfield, The University of Richmond School of Law
Section on Federal Courts Best Untenured Article Award
Monica Haymond, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law
Section on Firearms Law Emerging Scholar Award
Jacob D. Charles, Pepperdine University, Rick J. Caruso School of Law
Section on Indian Nations and Indigenous Peoples Clinic Impact Award
Patty Ferguson-Bohnee, Arizona State University, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Section on Indian Nations and Indigenous Peoples Early Career Scholarship Award
Lauren van Schilfgaarde, University of California, Los Angeles School of Law
Section on Indian Nations and Indigenous Peoples Early Career Teaching/Public Service Award
Uʻilani Tanigawa Lum, University of Hawai‘i, William S. Richardson School of Law
Section on Indian Nations and Indigenous Peoples Mentoring in the Legal Academy Award
Angela R. Riley, University of California, Los Angeles School of Law
Section on Institutional Advancement Champions Award
Stephanie Silvestri, Seton Hall University School of Law
Colleen Taricani, University of California, Irvine School of Law
Section on International Human Rights Nelson Mandela Award
Henry J. Richardson III, Temple University, James E. Beasley School of Law
Section on International Law Career Achievement Award
Antony T. Anghie, University of Utah, S. J. Quinney College of Law
Section on International Law Junior Scholar Award
Jennifer W. Lanz, Charleston School of Law
Rephael Stern, Boston University School of Law
Section on Jurisprudence Future Promise Award
Bill Watson, University of Illinois College of Law
Section on Jurisprudence Hart-Dworkin Award
Jeremy Waldron, New York University School of Law
Section on Jurisprudence Article Award
Felipe Jiménez, University of Southern California, Gould School of Law
Section on Law and Religion Harold Berman Award for Excellence in Scholarship
Zalman Rothschild, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
Section on Law and South Asian Studies Scholarly Paper Award
Gaurav Mukherjee, University of Connecticut School of Law
Section on Law Libraries and Legal Information Award
Filippa Marullo Anzalone, Boston College Law School
Kristina L. Niedringhaus, University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law
Bonnie Shucha, University of Wisconsin Law School
Section on Law, Medicine and Health Care Distinguished Service Award
Dorit Reiss, University of California College of the Law, San Francisco
Section on Law Professors with Disabilities and Allies Chai Feldblum Award
Nicole B. Porter, William & Mary Law School
Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research Award
Kirsten K. Davis, Stetson University College of Law
Section on Legislation and Law of the Political Process Scholarly Achievement Award
William Eskridge, Yale Law School
Philip P. Frickey, University of California, Berkeley School of Law
Section on Legislation and Law of the Political Process Scholarly Emerging Scholar Award
Joel S. Johnson, Pepperdine University Rick J. Caruso School of Law
Section on Minority Groups Clyde Ferguson Award
Catherine Powell, Fordham University School of Law
Section on Minority Groups Derrick A. Bell Jr. Award
Yvette T. Butler, Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Section on Minority Groups Impact Legacy Award
Patricia J. Williams, Northeastern University School of Law
Section on Pre-Law Education and Admission to Law School Excellence in Pre-Law Advising Award
Jennifer Noble, California State University, Sacramento
Section on Pre-Law Education and Admission to Law School Financial Aid Change Maker Award
Lori Hickman, University of Wisconsin Law School
Heidi Johnson, University of Wisconsin Law School
Abigail Rubeor, University of Wisconsin Law School
Section on Pre-Law Education and Admission to Law School Programmatic Change-Maker Award
University of Texas School of Law Pipeline Program led by Jimmi Nicholson and Sylvia Lewis, The University of Texas School of Law
Section on Pre-Law Education and Admission to Law School Presidential Spotlight Award
Integrating Doctrine & Diversity Speaker Series led by Nicole P. Dyszlewski and Chelsie L. Horne, Roger Williams University School of Law
Section on Pre-Law Education and Admission to Law School Up-and-Comer Award
Bibi Nalima Amin, City University of New York School of Law
Section on Pre-Law Education and Admission to Law School Unsung Hero Award
Michelle D. Gunter, University of Baltimore School of Law
Section on Pro Bono & Access to Justice – Access to Justice Award
Jina Scinta, University of Louisville, Louis D. Brandeis School of Law
Section on Pro Bono & Access to Justice Emerging Leader Award
Kala Mueller, University of Nebraska College of Law
Section on Pro Bono & Access to Justice Lifetime Achievement Award
Susan B. Schechter, University of California, Berkeley School of Law
Section on Professional Responsibility Fred C. Zacharias Memorial Prize
Matthew Liebman, University of San Francisco School of Law
Honorable Mention: Nuno Garoupa, Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University
Honorable Mention: Milan Markovic, Texas A&M University School of Law
Section on Race and Private Law Patricia J. Williams Award
Lisa M. Fairfax, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
Section on Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity Issues LGBTQ+ Inclusive Excellence Award
Darren Rosenblum, St. John’s University School of Law
Section on Student Services Peter N. Kutulakis Student Services Award
Macey Edmondson, University of Mississippi School of Law
Section on Taxation Lifetime Achievement Award
Alice G. Abreu, Temple University, James E. Beasley School of Law
Karen B. Brown, The George Washington University Law School
Section on Technology, Law and Legal Education Award
Jordan Jefferson, Quinnipiac University School of Law
Section on Technology, Law and Legal Education Technology & Ethics Award
Anna Conley, Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana
Section on Technology, Law and Legal Education Technology Mentorship Award
Tracy L. M. Norton, Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center
Section on Torts and Compensation Systems William L. Prosser Award
Catherine M. Sharkey, New York University School of Law
Section on Trusts and Estates Browne C. Lewis Section Award
Wendy Gerzog, University of Baltimore School of Law
Section on Women in Legal Education Ruth Bader Ginsburg Lifetime Achievement Award
Peggy Cooper Davis, New York University School of Law
Patricia J. Williams, Northeastern University School of Law