Professor Nancy Rapaport Honored with AALS Commercial and Consumer Law Scholarship Award

Written By: Tommy Gugino

The William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) proudly announces that UNLV Distinguished Professor Nancy B. Rapoport was honored with the prestigious Commercial and Consumer Law Scholarship Award from the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Section on Commercial and Consumer Law. The award recognizes her decades of exemplary contributions to legal scholarship in the field, with a particular focus on ethical practices within bankruptcy and commercial law.

Professor Rapoport, who also holds the title of the Garman Turner Gordon Professor of Law, was honored for a body of work that spans over three decades and consistently seeks to clarify concerns of professional (including judicial) ethics, especially in the context of consumer and corporate bankruptcies.

"The progress in our field is a testament to the contributions of so many talented individuals. I am truly honored to receive this recognition from them," Professor Rapoport said. 

A Pioneering Approach to Ethics

The nomination letter, submitted by Professor Walter A. Effross of American University Washington College of Law, highlighted the range and depth of Professor Rapoport’s publications. Her research is distinct in its methodology, employing not only traditional legal analysis such as textual interpretation, legislative history, and policy considerations but also empirical analysis, personal interviews, and questionnaires. Her writing is also noted for its refreshing incorporation of popular culture references.

Professor Rapoport’s influential work has tackled some of the most complex and critical issues facing the commercial law field, including the conduct of legal professionals and the structures of governance:

• Judicial Ethics and Disclosure: A key piece of her recent scholarship, Am I My Colleague's Keeper When It comes to Disclosing Connections? (2024), reviewed the judicial ethics issues raised by unreported personal relationships between court personnel and law firm partners. The article proposed specific reforms, including amending Rule 2014 to require the disclosure of "any connections to court and the court’s personnel”.
• The Problem of Conflicts: She has long focused on the challenges of conflicts of interest in complex bankruptcy cases, suggesting that ethical issues in Chapter 11 cases are an "intractable problem" that cannot be safely handled under "one size fits all" state ethics rules.
• Law Firm Behavior and Artificial Intelligence: Her scholarship has also examined how lawyers behave, including a recent focus on the ethical considerations of utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other legal technology in law practice. Professor Rapoport’s co-authored article, Fighting the Hypothetical: Why Law Firms Should Rethink the Billable Hour in the Generative AI Era (2025), directly addresses the fundamental changes and the anticipated shape of law firms in the generative AI era.

A Career of Distinction

The AALS award is the latest in a long history of professional honors for Professor Rapoport, who is widely recognized as a leading expert in bankruptcy law and legal ethics.

Professor Rapoport's specialties include business ethics, higher education governance, law firm behavior, and the depiction of lawyers in popular culture. She is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy and the American Bar Foundation. In 2017, she received the Commercial Law League of America’s Lawrence P. King Award for Excellence in Bankruptcy.

The nomination concluded by calling Professor Rapoport a "compelling candidate" for the award, crediting her for an "exemplary, and inspiring, collection of contributions to the analysis and advancement of professional ethics in bankruptcy".

Her continued work reinforces the Boyd School of Law’s commitment to scholarship that not only analyzes the law but actively works to improve ethical practice in the commercial world.