Kip Nelson

Kip Nelson is an Associate Professor of Law and the Assistant Director of Advocacy at HPU Law. Prior to his role at HPU Law, Professor Nelson had an active appellate practice for thirteen years at Fox Rothschild LLP, where he represented clients in state and federal appellate courts across the country on a broad array of matters, ranging from the unconstitutional conditions doctrine to land-use permits to waiver of child support. He also developed and taught a law school seminar course titled Children in the Law, which addressed the allocation of rights among children, parents, and the government.

Professor Nelson is certified by the North Carolina State Bar as an Appellate Practice Specialist. He is active in the American Bar Association and North Carolina Bar Association. He currently serves on the NCBA’s Appellate Rules Committee and is a member of the Appellate Practice Section Council. Professor Nelson is also the Rules Committee Chair for the ABA’s Council of Appellate Lawyers.

Professor Nelson was selected to the Triad Business Journal’s 2022 list of 40 under 40 and was a member of the Leadership Greensboro Class of 2018. He is also an active contributor to the North Carolina Appellate Practice Blog. In his pro bono work, Professor Nelson takes part in the state’s appellate guardian ad litem program—serving as appellate counsel on behalf of abused and neglected children.

Professor Nelson has published on several different topics, including the admissibility of battered child syndrome evidence, the scope of North Carolina’s unfair and deceptive practices statute, bifurcation of liability and damages, the role of the United States Sentencing Commission, the federal removal statutes, and the history of amicus briefs.

Professor Nelson graduated summa cum laude and first in his class from Duke University School of Law, where he served on the Moot Court Board and was an Articles Editor for the journal Law and Contemporary Problems. He then joined the inaugural class of Duke Law’s LL.M. program in Law and Entrepreneurship. Prior to obtaining his legal degrees, he received his B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Music, magna cum laude, from Brigham Young University.

Nelson’s primary responsibility is to assist with the legal research and writing program. Prior to joining the faculty, he worked as an appellate litigator at a large law firm. He earned a B.S. in psychology from Brigham Young University and a J.D. and LL.M. (Master of Law) from the Duke University School of Law. He is certified by the North Carolina State Bar as an appellate practice specialist.