Nicole Webster
USC Gould School of Law

Former special assistant to the United States Secretary of the Interior and the first American Marshal (Law Clerk) in England’s High Court of Justice, Nicole Webster has represented clients in both litigation, in state and federal court, and transactional matters, principally for real estate and related areas of the law. Webster teaches Legal Profession, Introduction to the U.S. Legal System, Presentation Skills for International Lawyers, U.S. Common Law Analysis and Skills, and Sales in the Master of Laws (LLM) program at USC Gould School of Law, and Topics in American Law to the Master of Studies in Law (MSL) students at Gould. A recent visiting professor of law at UC Irvine School of Law, Webster taught Contracts to the LLM students and Professional Responsibility to LLM and JD transfer students.

Concentrating on federal regulations, legislation and policy, Webster worked in the United States capital – in the U.S. departments of the Interior, Energy, and Housing and Urban Development – and in the State of California’s Washington, D.C., office on federal environmental and energy issues impacting California. She thereafter joined a noted international think tank, where she focused on the international environmental, energy, trade and business arenas.

Webster clerked in the United States District Court, after receiving her BA from the University of California, Los Angeles, and JD from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, upon her admission to the California Bar. She clerked as well in the High Court of England and Wales. She subsequently served in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, in the Major Crimes Division and latterly in the Environmental Crimes Division. Webster further is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.

A public speaker and author, Webster enjoys teaching, writing and guest speaking regarding public policy and government, real estate, international and cultural property law and associated topics, in both the public and private sectors. Active in her community, she has participated as a member or officer of numerous advisory boards and organizations. Webster recently was elected a member of the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation — an honorary society of attorneys, judges, law faculty and legal scholars whose careers demonstrated outstanding dedication to the highest principles of the legal profession, and whose membership is limited to one percent of attorneys licensed to practice in each jurisdiction. 

FACULTY IN THE NEWS

Bloomberg Government
June 22, 2022
Re: Franita Tolson

Franita Tolson was interviewed about how federal lawsuits from North Carolina, Alabama, and Arkansas test the limits of the Voting Rights Act, the boundaries of state government authority, and the ability of voting rights groups to file racial gerrymandering cases. “These doctrines and approaches in these cases fundamentally reset the rules of the game,” she said. “In 2030 we will live in a completely different world than we lived in in 2020, and 2020 was not favorable to minority voters at all.”

RECENT SCHOLARSHIP

Robin Craig
March, 2022

"Saltwater Sovereignty: Tribal Marine Management Authority Along the Pacific Coast.” Online Environmental Law Workshop. University of Maryland School of Law, Baltimore, MD.

Daniel Klerman
March, 2022

“Comment on Choi, Erickson, & Pritchard, ‘Coalitions among Plaintiffs’ Attorneys in Securities Class Actions’,” Conference on Empirical Legal Studies, Virtual, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Robin Craig
March, 2022

“Who’s on First? The Mind-Blowing Attempt to Conceptualize Deference in the Midst of Decision Delays and Agency Repeals,” J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Environmental Law Symposium for the George Washington University School of Law, Virtual, Washington, D.C.