Molly Nixon

Attorney |

Molly has always been passionate about liberty and fighting for the underdog, but it was her formal and informal education in history and economics that helped clarify 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 believes that distributing power is the best way to restrain the passions of the majority and protect the rights of minorities. As importantly, she thinks that federalism and defending state and local authorities from federal encroachment are fundamental in protecting liberty, 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 Republican/Independent/Libertarian Congressman Justin Amash, and worked as an attorney at the Department of the Interior’s Office of the Solicitor, where she concentrated primarily on offshore energy and did a six-month stint on the policy side 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 was a journalist in NYC and Israel. She also lived in New Zealand for nearly a year, working at a Jewish day school. 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.

Molly is a member of the bar only in the state of New York.