Nicole Mozee, J.D., an assistant professor at the Wilmington University School of Law, remembers her late father as a “civil rights champion” and knows “he would be so, so proud” that Delaware Today named her a Top Lawyer for civil rights.
“I am very, very honored and humbled to have received this recognition,” says Professor Mozee, who made the magazine’s annual list of exceptional Delaware lawyers. “I just do what I love, and I do it with passion.”
William Mozee, a lifelong welder, taught her “the notion of fairness and equity — and the importance of treating everyone with respect and dignity,” Professor Mozee says. In the 1970s, “being a Black welder, he was not afforded the same promotional opportunities,” so he organized walkouts to protest racial discrimination and ultimately won a class action lawsuit against his employer, Jeffboat Inc. in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
“That’s just one of many examples” of his advocacy that motivated her to become a civil rights lawyer, says Professor Mozee, the first in her family to go to college. “No matter your circumstances or where you come from, if you have the passion, if you have the perseverance, you can reach that goal.”
“No matter your circumstances or where you come from, if you have the passion, if you have the perseverance, you can reach that goal.”
— Nicole Mozee, J.D.
While deputy attorney general for the Delaware Department of Justice — Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust, she successfully prosecuted the Division’s first hate crime conviction as well as the state’s first conviction of a sitting elected official. Professor Mozee also served as associate legal counsel for Delaware Gov. John Carney, a staff attorney at Delaware Volunteer Legal Services and a labor law enforcement officer for the Delaware Department of Labor’s Office of Anti-Discrimination.
“We are proud that Nicole is a member of our School of Law faculty,” says Phillip Closius, J.D., the law school’s dean. “Her recognition as a Top Lawyer in Delaware only confirms our belief that Nicole will be an excellent teacher and an outstanding faculty member. Her award is well deserved and is only the beginning of the plaudits she will receive as a legal academic.”
William Mozee not only inspired his daughter’s legal career but also her love of teaching. As the head welding instructor at Delaware Technical Community College, he guided and encouraged students — just like Professor Mozee does today.
“You have the power to be a change agent,” she says, “to positively uplift and support others, to advocate for others who are often overlooked.”
WilmU’s law school values equity and inclusion, enrolling students who reflect the diverse communities they will serve.