Congratulations to these Brandeis alumni honorees

Two alumni of the Brandeis School of Law are being honored by the University of Louisville Alumni Association and will be celebrated at the 34th Annual Alumni Awards during Homecoming week.


Ernest E. Allen

The 2016 Alumnus of the Year is Ernest E. Allen ('72).

Allen is a founder of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. He served as chairman and then as president and CEO for 23 years.

He created the national 24-hour missing children hotline and brought age progression, forensic resources and training to law enforcement. He established the national CyberTipline for reporting child sexual exploitation and helped U.S. Marshals locate 100,000 fugitive sex offenders. 

To extend the effort globally, he founded the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children and served simultaneously as its president and CEO. He built a missing children’s network involving 23 nations, trained law enforcement in 121 countries and worked with parliaments in 100 countries to enact new laws.

Allen brought global attention to the risks of unregulated virtual currencies and led efforts to implement policies worldwide to address the anonymous “Dark Web.” He worked with the world’s leading financial institutions to reduce a multi-billion dollar commercial child pornography industry to virtually zero and with health care companies to address child sexual exploitation as a public health crisis.

“Ernie Allen is a shining example of the kind of graduates we produce at Brandeis Law. As an expert on the digital economy, public-private partnerships and child protection, his commitment to public service echoes the values of Justice Brandeis," said Brandeis Dean Susan Duncan. "His work at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children has helped thousands of children, and his collaboration with financial institutions and health care companies to address child sexual exploitation was revolutionary. We are proud to call Ernie one of our alumni, and this honor is much-deserved.”

Entertainment attorney selected as Brandeis Alumni Fellow


Nancy S. Niederman

Nancy S. Niederman ('80) is the 2016 Louis D. Brandeis School of Law Alumni Fellow.

As a Brandeis student, Niederman was at the top of her class, served as a member of the Law Review and was a member of the Brandeis Honor Society.

She was introduced to the Hollywood entertainment industry by her sister, an actress. She began her legal career at a premier entertainment law firm before moving to work directly with motion picture studios.

Niederman's first studio job was with Columbia Pictures. She then moved to MGM Studios, where she became head of the legal department, one of the youngest attorneys to ever hold that position.

Niederman then moved to 20th Century Fox, where she spent 20 years negotiating contracts with actors, directors, producers and writers. While there, she worked on movies such as Avatar, Moonstruck and Alvin and the Chipmunks.

After retiring from 20th Century Fox, Niederman started her own consulting company, where one of her clients is Lionsgate, the studio behind the Hunger Games and Twilight movies.

“Nancy Neiderman’s career as an entertainment attorney is an inspiration to our current law students, and her colleagues praise her expertise, big-picture thinking and ability to stay calm under pressure," said Dean Duncan. "I think Justice Brandeis would be very proud of this attorney who is committed to practicing the law with civility and collegiality.”

See the full list of UofL alumni honorees here.