The William S. Boyd School of Law at UNLV is bolstering its curriculum and community impact this fall by welcoming five distinguished new scholars and practitioners to its faculty.

"It is a privilege to welcome such an outstanding group of educators to Boyd Law this fall,” said Dean Leah Chan Grinvald. “Beyond their impressive achievements in practice and research, they share a deep dedication to our community and to training the next generation of ethical, skilled legal leaders. They are a wonderful addition to our vibrant intellectual community."

The new faculty members bring expertise

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

Written By: Tommy Gugino

Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Research and Professor of Law Benjamin Edwards was honored with the 2025 Pat Sadler Distinguished Service Award from the Public Investors Advocate Bar Association (PIABA). The award recognizes remarkable, long-term contributions to advancing and protecting the interests of public investors in securities and commodities arbitration. Edwards currently serves as Vice President of PIABA for 2025–2026.

The PIABA Distinguished Service Award is presented to individuals whose sustained work has meaningfully shaped the field through

The William S. Boyd School of Law was thrilled to welcome ten new faculty members this fall whose expertise spans criminal law, dispute resolution, environmental law, legal writing, legal tech (and AI), and more.

“Our new faculty members bring not only deep expertise in their legal fields, but also exceptional teaching experience,” said Dean Leah Chan Grinvald. “Each one of them strengthens our ability to prepare students for meaningful and impactful careers in the law.”

The newest members of the Boyd Law community represent a dynamic blend of legal scholars, practitioners, and educators who

Meet the new faculty members at the William S. Boyd School of Law for Fall 2023. 

Professor Kathyrn M. Stanchi has been elected as a member of the American Law Institute (ALI). Professor Stanchi’s expertise is in persuasion, rhetoric, writing, and feminist theory, focusing on how those disciplines intersect.

When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, professor David Orentlicher was uniquely qualified to analyze the controversial decision from the intersection of health care, ethics, public policy, and law.

While it did not initially appear to have the intense gravity of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning Roe v. Wade on June 24, the ruling on Kennedy v. Bremerton School District three days later prompted William S. Boyd Professor of Law at UNLV Leslie Griffin to write as energetically as she ever has.

In the decades-long battle to control how industrial air, water, and land pollution is regulated, the U.S. Supreme Court has clipped the wings of federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, William S. Boyd School of Law at UNLV professor Bret Birdsong believes.

One U.S. Supreme Court case that mostly flew under the mainstream media’s radar was nonetheless significant to legal scholars whose work focuses on Native American sovereignty—scholars such as Addie Rolnick, the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law at UNLV.