Section on Law Libraries and Legal Information
The ABA’s recent revisions to the Library Standards bring both opportunities and challenges for law libraries, particularly in the areas of director status, collections, and assessment. This webinar will equip you with the knowledge and perspectives you need to navigate these changes with confidence.
We’ll begin with an overview of the new Standards from current Managing Director of the ABA Section on Legal Education, Jenn Rosato Perea, followed by a panel of experienced law librarians who will share first-hand insights from their institutions’ recent ABA site visits. Their perspectives will highlight what these changes mean in practice and how libraries can best prepare.
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from colleagues on the front lines, ask your questions, and engage in an open discussion about what lies ahead for law libraries.
Michelle Cosby, Assistant Dean of Legal Information Services and Professor of Practice, Washington and Lee University School of Law
Michelle Cosby serves as the Assistant Dean of Legal Information Services & Professor of Practice. In this role, she leads the Law Library in the support of research for law faculty and students. She also oversees the daily operations including strategic directions, personnel, budget, and administrative activities for the library. Prior to joining Washington and Lee in June 2022, Professor Cosby was the Director of the Law Library at Temple University, and Associate Director of the Law Library at the University of Tennessee.
Ms. Cosby also served as the President of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) from July 2019-July 2020, and is a Fastcase 50 Honoree.
Professor Cosby received her B.A. in Sociology from Butler University and earned a dual Juris Doctorate (JD) and Master of Library Sciences (MLS) from Indiana University-Bloomington. She is an admitted member of the Indiana Bar.
Edward Hart, Assistant Dean, University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law
Edward T. Hart joined the UNT Dallas College of Law in 2013 and currently serves as the Assistant Dean for Law Library and Professor of Practice. Prof. Hart oversees the services and collections of the Law Library, including legal research instruction.
Prof. Hart received his JD from New England School of Law. He also earned his Master’s in Library Science from Simmons College and an LLM in European Union Law from Northumbria University. His undergraduate degree in History was earned at Valdosta State University.
Before coming to UNT Dallas College of Law, Prof. Hart was Head of Technical Services and Adjunct Professor of Law at University of Florida Levin College of Law. Prior to Florida, he started his law library career while attending NESL as a student assistant and later served in the same library as the Acquisitions and Collections Management Librarian.
Prof. Hart is the author of the chapter “Technical Services 2.0” in Law Libraries in Digital Age. He published several articles on law librarianship and law libraries’ collection development in the International Journal of Legal Information and Legal Information Management, as well as a legal history piece in the Journal of Southern Legal History.
He has been a member of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) since 2000. He was a Fellow of the AALL’s first Leadership Academy in 2007. He served as president of the Southeastern Chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries (SEAALL) and later as president of the Dallas Association of Law Libraries (DALL). He was chair of the Society of Academic Law Library Directors. His AALL service includes being a member of the Editorial Board for the Law Library Journal and currently as vice-chair/chair-elect of the Leadership Development Committee. His longest professional service, since 2007, is as Chair of the Publications Committee of the Government Documents Special Interest Section of AALL, where he oversees the updating of the State Documents Bibliographies, which are published on HeinOnline.
Kristina L. Niedringhaus, Associate Dean & Director of the Law Library, University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law
Kristina L. Niedringhaus joined the Joseph F. Rice School of Law, University of South Carolina as Associate Dean and Director of the Law Library in April 2025. She spent the previous 12 years at Georgia State University as Associate Dean for Library, Information Resources, Legal Technology & Innovation and Faculty Director of the Legal Analytics & Innovation Initiative. Through unfortunate timing, Kris has been through eight different ABA site inspections, six of them as director of the law library. She has also served as an ABA site inspector.
Jennifer Rosato Perea, Managing Director of Managing Director of Legal Education and Accrediation, American Bar Association
Jennifer Rosato Perea is the Managing Director of Legal Education and Accreditation at the American Bar Association. Her primary role is to oversee the accreditation of close to 200 law schools across the country, and to work with the staff and Council to improve legal education. Having served as dean at three law schools, Rosato Perea is a nationally recognized leader in legal education. She is also a longtime advocate of student engagement and professionalism and a respected legal scholar.
Robert Truman, Associate Dean and Director, Paul L. Boley Law Library at Lewis and Clark Law School
Rob Truman is Associate Dean and Director of the Paul L. Boley Law Library, overseeing all aspects of the library, including research and reference, instructional services, content and collection management, circulation, resource sharing, and planning for future library and technological needs. Rob has taught a variety of legal research classes since 1999 and is currently teaching Legal Research: Environmental Law. He has served the library and the law school as Librarian for Legal Research Instruction; Assistant Director, Electronic Information Services; Reference Librarian; and Assistant Dean for Continuing Legal Education and Director, Oregon Law Institute. He has a J.D. from Lewis & Clark Law School and an M.L.S. from Emporia State University. Before coming to Lewis & Clark Law, he spent time in private practice and as a Reference Librarian at the Willamette University College of Law.
Shira Megerman, Associate Director for Scholarly & Research Services, Lillian Goldman Law Library at Yale University
Before joining the Lillian Goldman Law Library at Yale University this past summer as the Associate Director for Scholarly & Research Services, Shira was the Associate Director of Instruction, Research, and Reference at the University of Maryland, Francis King Carey School of Law in Baltimore. She has over 15 years of progressive experience in academic law libraries, including the libraries at Boston University School of Law and the University of Florida Levin School of Law. Shira is professionally active in library organizations including the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), where she founded the Jewish Law Librarians Caucus in 2012. She holds a B.A. from the University of Texas, a J.D. from Washburn University School of Law, and a M.I.S.L.T. from the University of Missouri.
