Molly Nixon

Molly has always been passionate about liberty and fighting for the underdog. Her interest in history and economics refined her thinking on the benefits of limited government and the critical importance of the rule of law in preserving freedom. A happy contrarian by nature, she prioritizes civility and humor in the practice of law and in life. 

Molly joined PLF in 2023 and focuses on the separation of powers. She thinks that distributing power is our best means of restraining the passions of majorities and securing the rights of minorities. She also believes that robust federalism is fundamental to safeguarding diversity, lowering the stakes on contentious issues, and ensuring the long-term success of representative government. 

Molly prepared for her separation of powers practice at PLF by working in all three branches of the federal government. She clerked for Judge Sharon Gleason on the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, served as legislative counsel for House-Liberty-Caucus founder Congressman Justin Amash, and worked as an attorney at the Department of the Interior’s Office of the Solicitor, where she concentrated on offshore energy after a stint as acting counselor to the solicitor. She also spent several years as a litigator at a large law firm in NYC. 

Before attending NYU School of Law, Molly worked as a journalist in NYC and Israel and lived for a year in New Zealand. She was born and raised in New York and graduated from Boston University. She cares deeply about animals and hopes to work toward a world in which non-humans are treated more compassionately and protected by (properly enacted!) law. In her free time, Molly loves to read, study history, dance, practice her mediocre French, climb rocks, and explore this amazing planet. She can’t get enough of the ocean and wishes she had never seen Jaws.