Nicole Porter

General Counsel

Nicole PorterNicole Porter came to ORNL from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Operations Office in 1999 and become General Counsel in February 2006.

Previously, Nicole practiced law with a large firm in Baltimore and worked for several federal agencies. She was the first Special Assistant U.S. Attorney permanently appointed in Maryland and successfully argued before the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and graduated cum laude from the University of Baltimore School of Law, where she was a member of the Law Review.

Nicole’s practice area spans contracts and procurement law, appropriations, real estate/bond financing for UT‑Battelle’s alternatively financed construction, and business-related issues including legal services for the Technology Transfer and Economic Development Directorate.

Nicole has played key roles in the Laboratory’s supercomputer acquisitions and in the financing, construction, and leasing of the new alternatively financed facilities at ORNL. In addition to her duties for ORNL, she serves as the Secretary of UT-Battelle, LLC, and General Counsel and Secretary for the UT‑Battelle Development Corporation. Nicole also serves on the board of the East Tennessee Economic Council.