Peter Nicolas

  • William L. Dwyer Chair in Law
  • Director, Intellectual Property Law & Policy Graduate Program
  • Adjunct Professor of Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies
  • Adjunct Professor of Music

Contact

Phone: (206) 685-2459
Email: pnicolas@uw.edu

Education

B.A. 1991 (Economics), M.P.P. 1992, University of Michigan J.D. 1999, Harvard University A.A.A.S. 2021 (Music Performance), Shoreline Community College B.A. 2023 (Music), University of Washington

Areas of Expertise

Affirmative Action 鈥 Civil Rights 鈥 Constitutional Law 鈥 Copyright Law 鈥 Evidence 鈥 Federal Courts 鈥 LGBTQ Rights 鈥 Music Law 鈥 Reproductive Rights

Recent Courses

Course Number Course Name
Constitutional Law II
Evidence
Copyright Law
Intellectual Property Theory Seminar
Music Law & Policy
Music Industry Deals

Selected Publications

  • Peter Nicolas, The Reconstruction Amendments (Carolina Academic Press 2020).

See the full list under the Publications tab below.

Professor Nicolas joined the UW law school faculty in 2000 following a clerkship with Judge Michael Boudin on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard, where he served on the editorial board of the Harvard Law Review. His teaching and research interests include evidence, constitutional law, copyright, music law, sexual orientation and gender identity law,聽federal courts, international civil litigation and conflict of laws.

Professor Nicolas is a nationally recognized expert in the fields of evidence, constitutional law, music law, federal courts and sexual orientation law. He is the author of three national textbooks on the topics of evidence; constitutional law; and sexual orientation, gender identity and the law. His textbooks have been adopted for classroom use at law schools throughout the United States.

Professor Nicolas's scholarship has been cited by countless scholars and dozens of federal and state courts, including the United States Supreme Court. He has served as a consultant on cases nationwide involving the rights of same-sex couples and he has been invited to give lectures to attorneys and judges on the nuances of evidence and constitutional law.

Professor Nicolas's current teaching and scholarship focuses on the intersection of copyright law and music theory. Professor Nicolas teaches courses on copyright, music law and policy, and music industry deals, and his current scholarship focuses on the intersection of the two fields. Professor Nicolas has studied music at Shoreline Community College and the University of Washington, with a focus on music theory; music history; composition; piano; and popular and classical voice. He is frequently consulted by national news outlets on questions related to music law. He currently serves as the faculty director of the School of Law's LL.M. program in intellectual property law and policy.

From 2008鈥2010, Professor Nicolas served as Associate Dean of the UW law school. His responsibilities in that capacity included faculty career development; curriculum delivery (including course scheduling and teaching assignments); appointing faculty committees and serving as a liaison to the academic standards, admissions and curriculum committees; supervising the Director of Academic Services and the Director of Academic Advising; honor code enforcement; and working closely with the Dean and other members of the law school's leadership on all aspects of institutional development and planning.

Prior to pursuing a career in the law, Professor Nicolas was a Research Economist at the University of Michigan and served for two, two-year terms as a member of the Ann Arbor, Michigan, City Council. He is a member of the bars of New York, U.S. District Court of Colorado and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Peer Reviewed Journals & Law Reviews

  • Peter Nicolas, Left Hand, Third Finger: The Wearing of Wedding (or Other) Rings as a Form of Assertive Conduct under the Hearsay Rule, 30 Women's Rts. L. Rep. 526-42 (2009).
  • Peter Nicolas, De Novo Review in Deferential Robes?: A Deconstruction of the Standard of Review of Evidentiary Errors in the Federal System, 54 Syracuse L. Rev. 531-98 (2004).
  • Peter Nicolas, 鈥淭hey Say He鈥檚 Gay鈥: The Admissibility of Evidence of Sexual Orientation, 37 Ga. L. Rev. 793-892 (2003).
  • Peter Nicolas, American-Style Justice in No Man鈥檚 Land, 36 Ga. L. Rev. 895-1073 (2002).
  • Peter Nicolas, Fighting the Probate Mafia: A Dissection of the Probate Exception to Federal Court Jurisdiction, 74 S. Cal. L. Rev. 1479-1547 (2001).
  • Peter Nicolas, The Use of Preclusion Doctrine, Antisuit Injunctions, and Forum Non Conveniens Dismissals in Transnational Intellectual Property Litigation, 40 Va. J. Int鈥檒 L. 331-404 (1999).
  • Recent Case, Criminal Procedure -- Venue -- Third Circuit Finds Venue for Firearms Charge Improper in District Where Only Predicate Offense Occurred -- United States v. Palma-Ruedas, 111 Harv. L. Rev. 1134-39 (1998).
  • Case Comment, The Supreme Court, 1997 Term -- Leading Cases -- Federal Statutes and Regulations -- Americans with Disabilities Act -- Asymptomatic HIV, 112 Harv. L. Rev. 283-93 (1998).
  • Kenneth E. Warner, George A. Fulton, Peter Nicolas & Donald Grimes, Employment Implications of Declining Tobacco Product Sales for the Regional Economies of the United States, 275 J. Am. Med. Ass鈥檔 1241-46 (1996).

Books or Treatises

  • Peter Nicolas, The Reconstruction Amendments (Carolina Academic Press 2020).
  • Peter Nicolas, Evidence: A Problem-Based and Comparative Approach (4th ed. Carolina Academic Press 2018). 971 pages. [First published in 2005; includes statutory supplement and teacher's manual; supplemented annually.]
  • Peter Nicolas & Mike Strong, The Geography of Love: Same-Sex Marriage & Relationship Recognition in America (The Story in Maps) (5th ed. Peter Nicolas and Mike Strong 2014). 36 pages. [First published in 2011.]
  • Peter Nicolas, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and the Constitution (Carolina Academic Press 2012, annual supps.). 612 pages.
  • Peter Nicolas, Florida and Federal Evidence Rules, 2012-2013 (Aspen Publishers 2012). 426 pages. [First published in 2006.]
  • Peter Nicolas, New York and Federal Evidence Rules, 2012-2013 (Aspen Publishers 2012). 374 pages. [First published in 2007.]
  • Peter Nicolas, Texas and Federal Evidence Rules, 2009-2010 (Aspen Publishers 2009). 336 pages. [First published in 2006.]

News Media


  • Speaker, "Harmonizing Music Theory and Music Law, 6th Annual Copyright Scholarship Roundtable," Sixth Annual Copyright Scholarship Roundtable, The Center for Technology, Innovation and Competition (CTIC), University of Pennsylvania Law School (October 15, 2021)
  • Speaker, "The History of the LGBTQ Civil Rights Movement: 50 Years After Stonewall," QLawWA and King County Superior Court (June 7, 2019)
  • Speaker, "The Federalization of Family Law," Meeting, Washington Superior Judges鈥 Association (April 8, 2018)
  • Speaker, "Evidence: The Admissibility of Electronic Information under the Federal Rules," 2017 National Workshop for Magistrate Judges I, Federal Judicial Center (April 3, 2017)
  • Panelist, "Setting the Post-Obergefell Agenda," Annual Meeting, Association of American Law Schools (January 6, 2017)
  • Mar 13, 2025 | Source: Vulture
  • Mar 12, 2025 | Source: Northwest Public Broadcasting
  • Feb 04, 2025 | Source: Bloomberg Law
  • Sep 12, 2024 | Source: Bloomberg
  • Mar 05, 2024 | Source: Miami Herald
  • Feb 06, 2024 | Source: Bloomberg Law
  • Mar 21, 2023 | Source: UW News
  • Dec 12, 2022 | Source: KUOW
  • Dec 09, 2022 | Source: The Chronicle
  • Dec 08, 2022 | Source: The Seattle Times
  • Aug 01, 2022 | Source: Vulture
  • Jan 15, 2021 | Source: The Seattle Times
  • Dec 20, 2020 | Source: The Seattle Times
  • Jun 15, 2020 | Source: KING 5