Nicole B. Porter Recognized for Advancing People with Disabilities in Legal Academia

The AALS (Association of American Law Schools) Section on Law Professors with Disabilities and Allies has announced that Nicole B. Porter, Rita Anne Rollins Professor of Law at William & Mary Law School, has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Chai Feldblum Award.

Named in honor of Chai Feldblum, a pioneering disability rights advocate and law professor, the award recognizes substantial contributions to advancing the inclusion of people with disabilities in legal academia.

Professor Porter is a nationally recognized scholar in employment discrimination and disability law. She has authored or co-authored five books and more than 50 law review articles and essays, including her recent book The Workplace Reimagined: Accommodating Our Bodies and Our Lives (Cambridge University Press, 2023).

Her distinguished career includes leadership roles at Chicago-Kent College of Law and the University of Toledo College of Law, as well as visiting appointments at the University of Denver and the University of Iowa. Porter’s scholarship and advocacy have been deeply informed by her lived experience with Multiple Sclerosis, diagnosed in 2008, which inspired her to devote much of her work to disability law.

The Chai Feldblum award will be presented during the AALS Annual Meeting in January at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside.

Past recipients include Chai Feldblum (2022), Katherine Macfarlane (2023), Arlene Kanter (2023), Robyn Powell (2024), and Katherine Pérez (2025).