Interim Dean and Mengler Chair in Law at the University of St. Thomas (MN)

Joel A. Nichols is Vice Dean and Professor of Law, University of Alabama Law School. Nichols’ work focuses on the intersection of law and religion, especially in family law, First Amendment law, and human rights. His books include Religion and the American Constitutional Experiment, 5th ed. (Oxford University Press, 2021) (with John Witte, Jr. and Rick W. Garnett) and Marriage and Divorce in a Multicultural Context (Cambridge University Press, 2012). He has also authored two dozen publications, including articles in NYU Law Review, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, Journal of Law and Religion, and Family Court Review, as well as book chapters with Cambridge University Press, InterVarsity Press, and Mohr Siebeck.

Nichols previously taught at Pepperdine Law School, clerked for a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and practiced complex civil litigation in Washington D.C. He is chair of the AALS Section on Family and Juvenile Law and serves in Leadership for the AALS Section for Associate Deans.

Nichols holds a juris doctor from Emory University School of Law, a master of divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory, and a bachelor of arts in English from Abilene Christian University.