(Chicago, IL – January 5, 2017) At its Annual Members Meeting on January 5, 2017, Jill Smith, Instructional Technology Librarian at Georgetown Law and Michael Robak, Associate Law Library Director and Chief Technology Officer at The University of Missouri-Kansas City were appointed to the Center for Computer- Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) Board of Directors to fill the vacancies by outgoing Board Members Professor William Henderson from Indiana University Bloomington Maurer School of Law and Professor Renee Knake from the University of Houston Law Center, whose term ended on January 1, 2017. All CALI Board members are unpaid volunteers and we greatly appreciate the efforts by Professor Henderson and Professor Knake in their support of CALI.
“I am delighted to welcome Jill and Michael to CALI’s Board of Directors,” said John Mayer, Executive Director, The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction. “They bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to help shape our strategic plans to advance global legal education through technology.”
“Having Jill and Michael agree to join the board of directors of CALI is a tremendous honor. I look forward to their participation at Board meetings and I am confident that their insights will help CALI achieve its mission,” stated Professor Jennifer Martin, President, Board of Directors, The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction.
Jill Smith is the Instructional Technology Librarian. Prior to joining Georgetown, Jill was Research and Instructional Technology Librarian at The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, where she also taught Introduction to Legal Research and Advanced Legal Research. Prior to beginning her library career, Jill spent two years as a legal index editor at BNA and 12 years working in executive relationship management with the NASDAQ Stock Market and in corporate communications for NASDAQ-listed companies.
Jill is a frequent speaker on a variety of topics including: using Camtasia to create independent learning modules and flipped classroom materials, the application of transliteracy to modern legal curricula, and technological enhancements to collaborative projects.
Jill is a graduate of the University of Maine School of Law and the University of Maryland’s iSchool. She is a current member of the Reviews Committee for Library Quarterly. In the 2011-12 editorial year, she was editor of the Law Librarians’ Society of Washington, D.C. publication Law Library Lights, which won AALL’s “Best Newsletter” award in 2013 for issue 55.3. She is a member of the New Hampshire State Bar.
Michael Robak received his J.D. from Robert H. McKinney School of Law and a Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois. Michael began his career as a deputy prosecutor in Indianapolis and subsequently held a number of administrative positions including Marion County Court Administrator.
After that he worked as a private practitioner in large and small firm settings as well as his own solo practice. In 2000 he completed his MSLIS at Illinois and became Director of Information Services for InteCap, a litigation, economic and business consulting firm with a focus on IP litigation and strategies. Charles River Associates subsequently acquired InteCap and Michael became Director of Legal Research for CRA. In 2008 he began his academic career and joined the University Of Illinois College Of Law as an assistant Professor of Library Administration and Reference Librarian. In 2011 he joined the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law as Associate Law Library Director and Chief Technology Officer.
