The Law and Society Association is thrilled to share that the American Bar Foundation has selected former LSA President Laura Beth Nielsen to serve as its new Executive Director! Nielsen, who holds a joint appointment with Northwestern University, has been an ABF Research Professor for more than twenty-five years. Her tenure begins on September 1, 2026.
Professor Nielsen has been an important leader in the LSA community for multiple decades. Prior to her 2021 – 2023 presidential term, she served as the Board Secretary (2011 – 2013) and a Board Trustee (2001 – 2004). The current Ronald Pipkin Service Awardee, she has also received the LSA Stan Wheeler Mentorship Award (2018), Article Prize (2002), Dissertation Prize (2000), and Graduate Student Paper Prize (1999). Professor Nielsen’s consistent investment in LSA’s success has been critical for, among other things, establishing the LSA endowment and securing funding for the ABF/LSA Doctoral Fellowship in Law and Inequality.
To learn more about this historic appointment, visit the American Bar Foundation website.