{"id":5561,"date":"2024-04-12T06:05:05","date_gmt":"2024-04-12T06:05:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/?p=5561"},"modified":"2025-03-28T16:44:55","modified_gmt":"2025-03-28T20:44:55","slug":"wilmu-law-professor-awarded-top-lawyer-honor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/2024\/04\/12\/wilmu-law-professor-awarded-top-lawyer-honor\/","title":{"rendered":"WilmU Law Professor Awarded \u2018Top Lawyer\u2019 Honor"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.kadence-column5561_75f92f-76 > .kt-inside-inner-col{padding-right:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-bottom:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-left:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);}.kadence-column5561_75f92f-76 > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column5561_75f92f-76 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column5561_75f92f-76 > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column5561_75f92f-76 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column5561_75f92f-76 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column5561_75f92f-76 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column5561_75f92f-76{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column5561_75f92f-76 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 991px){.kadence-column5561_75f92f-76 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column5561_75f92f-76 dynamic-main-col\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\">\n<p><strong>Nicole Mozee, J.D.<\/strong>, an assistant professor at the Wilmington University School of Law, remembers her late father as a \u201ccivil rights champion&#8221; and knows \u201che would be so, so proud\u201d that <a href=\"https:\/\/delawaretoday.com\/life-style\/delaware-top-lawyers\/\">Delaware&nbsp;Today<\/a> named her a Top Lawyer for civil rights.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI am very, very honored and humbled to have received this recognition,\u201d says Professor Mozee, who made the magazine\u2019s annual list of exceptional Delaware lawyers. \u201cI just do what I love, and I do it with passion.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>William Mozee<\/strong>, a lifelong welder, taught her \u201cthe notion of fairness and equity \u2014 and the importance of treating everyone with respect and dignity,\u201d Professor Mozee says. In the 1970s, \u201cbeing a Black welder, he was not afforded the same promotional opportunities,\u201d so he organized walkouts to protest racial discrimination and ultimately won a class action lawsuit against his employer, Jeffboat Inc. in Jeffersonville, Indiana.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s just one of many examples\u201d of his advocacy that motivated her to become a civil rights lawyer, says Professor Mozee, the first in her family to go to college. \u201cNo matter your circumstances or where you come from, if you have the passion, if you have the perseverance, you can reach that goal.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ad2f72ca wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote wu-blockquote-simple is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cNo matter your circumstances or where you come from, if you have the passion, if you have the perseverance, you can reach that goal.\u201d<em><br><\/em><\/p>\n<cite><em>\u2014 Nicole Mozee, J.D.<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>While deputy attorney general for the Delaware Department of Justice \u2014 Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust, she successfully prosecuted the Division\u2019s first hate crime conviction as well as the state\u2019s first conviction of a sitting elected official. <a href=\"https:\/\/law.wilmu.edu\/faculty\/nicole-mozee.aspx\">Professor Mozee<\/a> also served as associate legal counsel for Delaware <strong>Gov. John Carney<\/strong>, a staff attorney at Delaware Volunteer Legal Services and a labor law enforcement officer for the Delaware Department of Labor\u2019s Office of Anti-Discrimination.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are proud that Nicole is a member of our School of Law faculty,\u201d says <strong>Phillip Closius, J.D.<\/strong>, the law school\u2019s dean. \u201cHer 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.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>William Mozee not only inspired his daughter\u2019s legal career but also her love of teaching. As the head welding instructor at Delaware Technical Community College, he guided and encouraged students \u2014 just like Professor Mozee does today.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou have the power to be a change agent,\u201d she says, \u201cto positively uplift and support others, to advocate for others who are often overlooked.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<style>.kb-row-layout-wrap.wp-block-kadence-rowlayout.kb-row-layout-id5561_202605-60{margin-top:2em;}.kb-row-layout-id5561_202605-60 > .kt-row-column-wrap{align-content:center;}:where(.kb-row-layout-id5561_202605-60 > .kt-row-column-wrap) > .wp-block-kadence-column{justify-content:center;}.kb-row-layout-id5561_202605-60 > .kt-row-column-wrap{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-none, 0rem );row-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-none, 0rem );max-width:var( --global-content-width, 1290px 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.kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image5561_af1af0-fc image-is-svg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"350\" height=\"180\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/wilmu-cta-logo-sol.svg\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-17743\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<style>.kadence-column5561_746c13-a2 > .kt-inside-inner-col{display:flex;}.kadence-column5561_746c13-a2 > .kt-inside-inner-col{padding-right:var(--global-kb-spacing-sm, 1.5rem);padding-left:var(--global-kb-spacing-sm, 1.5rem);}.kadence-column5561_746c13-a2 > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column5561_746c13-a2 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;align-items:stretch;}.kadence-column5561_746c13-a2 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image-is-ratio-size{align-self:stretch;}.kadence-column5561_746c13-a2 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .wp-block-kadence-advancedgallery{align-self:stretch;}.kadence-column5561_746c13-a2 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kt-row-column-wrap > .kadence-column5561_746c13-a2{align-self:center;}.kt-inner-column-height-full:not(.kt-has-1-columns) > .wp-block-kadence-column.kadence-column5561_746c13-a2{align-self:auto;}.kt-inner-column-height-full:not(.kt-has-1-columns) > .wp-block-kadence-column.kadence-column5561_746c13-a2 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}.kadence-column5561_746c13-a2 > .kt-inside-inner-col{background-color:#eeeeee;}.kadence-column5561_746c13-a2 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column5561_746c13-a2{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kt-row-column-wrap > .kadence-column5561_746c13-a2{align-self:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kt-inner-column-height-full:not(.kt-has-1-columns) > .wp-block-kadence-column.kadence-column5561_746c13-a2{align-self:auto;}}@media all and 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