After a successful term at Yale Law School (where she served on the Yale Law Journal, the Yale Journal of Law and Policy, and the Yale Journal of International Law), Niki Kuckes won a coveted clerkship with Judge (now Justice) Antonin Scalia.  She moved on to develop a sophisticated litigation practice in Washington, D.C, where for almost two decades she focused on white collar criminal matters, copyright and First Amendment, and legal malpractice cases.  Professor Kuckes has used this expertise to develop a strong reputation in the areas of grand juries and prosecutorial ethics.  Before coming to RWU, Professor Kuckes was "Distinguished Practitioner in Residence" at Cornell Law School.

Professor Kuckes was awarded tenure and promoted to Full Professor in 2009, and she brings her deep practice experience to her teaching of Civil Procedure, Intellectual Property, and Professional Responsibility.