Gregory Nies | SIU

Gregory Nies is currently an Assistant Professor of Law at the Southern Illinois University Simmons Law School.  Greg earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Grace University, Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Master of Arts degree in Church and State Studies from Baylor University, Master of Science degree in Agriculture and Natural Resources from the University of Tennessee Martin, and Juris Doctor degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law.   After law school Greg served as a practicing attorney with the state of Tennessee for 17 years, including positions as a judicial clerk with the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, an Assistant Attorney General with the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office, a Staff Attorney and Special Master for Davidson County Chancery Court, and as Staff Attorney for the Tennessee Court of Appeals Western Section.  In 2021 Greg transitioned to a full-time academic career, serving as an Assistant Professor of Agribusiness and Business law at the University of Nebraska Kearney for three years before joining the SIU Simmons Law School faculty in 2024.   

Areas of legal specialization:  Agriculture Law and Policy, Rural Law, Regulatory environment 

"My scholarship focus lies in the intersection of agriculture law and policy.  My desire is to research and examine the policies that drive agribusiness, as well as the laws implementing those policies, in an effort to identify and suggest areas of improvement for both the agriculture industry and society as a whole.  A secondary research interest is behavioral economics; specifically, consumer and producer behavior and attitudes related to agriculture and food production practices."