Niehoff, Leonard

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Professor from Practice

971 Legal Research
734.763.5145
E-mail lniehoff@umich.edu

Prof. Leonard M. Niehoff, '84, is a professor from practice. His interests include civil procedure, constitutional law, ethics, evidence, First Amendment, higher education law, media law, and the intersections between legal theory and theology. He is the author or coauthor of more than 100 publications on a wide range of issues in these fields. Prof. Niehoff has practiced law for more than 30 years and is currently of counsel to Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP. Numerous publications and organizations have recognized him as a distinguished litigator, appellate advocate, and media, First Amendment, and higher education lawyer. He previously taught at Wayne State University Law School and the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. He received his BA and JD from the University of Michigan and also studied at the Ecumenical Theological Seminary.

Recent Publications

"Training the New Litigator: Some Assembly Required." Litigation 40, no. 4 (2014).

"Material Falsity in Defamation Cases: The Supreme Court's Call for Contextual Analysis." Tobin, Charles D., Comm. Law. 30, no. 3 (2014).

"Three Puzzling Things about New York Times v. Sullivan: Beginning the Anniversary Conversation." Comm. Law. 29, no. 3 (2013): 10.
Full Text: Westlaw

Recently Taught Courses

Activities

Moderated ABA Teleconference, "One Size Does Not Fit All: Comparing and Contrasting Appeals Among State and Federal Intermediate and High Appellate Courts," September 2014.

Participated with Erwin Chemerinsky in a webinar about the Supreme Court decision Fisher v. University of Texas that was conducted by the National Association of College and University Attorneys, July 2013.

Presented "Ethics for Lawyers New to the Practice of Higher Education Law" and "The Diversity Challenge: Affirmative Action in Higher Education and Fisher v. University of Texas" at the annual meeting of the National Association of College and University Attorneys, June 2013.

Spoke on "Legal Ethics for Media Lawyers" at the annual Media Law Conference sponsored by the Media Law Resource Center, the Newspaper Association of America, and the National Association of Broadcasters, Reston, Virginia, October 2012.

Spoke to print and broadcast reporters about the basics of civil procedure during a Federal Bar Association program called “A Backstage Pass for Journalists Covering the Federal Courts," October 2012.

Presented "Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission: A Fugue in Two Voices," Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, November 2011.

Moderator, "Social Media: Faculty and Student Rights and Responsibilities," National Association of College and University Attorneys Annual Conference, San Francisco, June 2011.

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