Document Type
Presentation
Start Date
12-6-2019 9:35 AM
End Date
12-6-2019 10:20 AM
Presenter Biography
Sherri Thomas, Associate Dean of Institutional Climate and Equity, Assistant Library Director, and Professor of Law Librarianship, University of New Mexico School of Law
As the Assistant Director of the UNM Law Library, Sherri Thomas coordinates collection management and leads the Library Systems Group of the Law Library. She engages in management of the print and electronic collections and provides reference services to Law School students, staff, faculty, and the public. In addition to teaching the required Legal Research course, Professor Thomas created and teaches the two-credit-hour Indian Law Research course, frequently leads legal research workshops focused on specific legal topics and also presents on substantive areas of law, including Federal Indian, Tribal and Copyright Law.
Professor Thomas is Black and American Indian, and she grew up on the Dine (Navajo) Reservation. Her life in Indian country and her status as an enrolled Tiwa (Taos Pueblo) member have cultivated her concerns and interest in Indian law, history, and current indigenous issues.
Before graduating from the UNM School of Law in 2005 with a certificate in Indian Law, she worked as the Information Manager for Environmental Risk Analysis, Inc., a bio-litigation consulting firm, in San Mateo, CA. She also worked as a Database Specialist and Cataloger for Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati, PC, based in Palo Alto, CA.
Michelle Rigual, Associate Dean of Information Sciences, Professor of Law Librarianship, and Research Professor of Law, University of New Mexico School of Law
Michelle Rigual joined the UNM law library faculty in 2003 and worked her way through every facet of library operations and management, holding the positions of Reference Librarian (2003-04); Co-Interim Director (2003-04); Head of Technical Services (2004-05); Assistant Director for Technical Services, Electronic Resources, and Collections (2006); and Associate Director (2006-09).
In 2013, after several years as Library Director and Associate Professor of Law at Texas Wesleyan University, Professor Rigual was recruited back to UNM to serve as Acting Director of the Law Library. She has been the Director since 2015.
Professor Rigual primarily teaches Legal Research but has also taught 1L Practicum and Critical Thinking. She is a frequent speaker on law library management and innovation. She is an active member of both the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) and the Southwestern Association of Law Libraries (SWALL) and has served as President of both SWALL and the AALL Latino Caucus. Before turning to law librarianship she worked in the area of environmental policy and regulatory enforcement for the Army Corps of Engineers.
Description
Successfully dismantling the “separate but equal” paradigm to integrate Legal Research and Writing courses into the law school curriculum is a long-term proposition that is unlikely to succeed through a single campaign. At University of New Mexico, several negative hierarchical structures have stood in the way of curricular integration, including some surprising ones that arise from within the legal writing and research faculties. In this session, we’ll discuss these structures, the tools we are using to challenge them, and the successes we have experienced thus far.
Taking Collective Action to Integrate the Law School Curriculum
Successfully dismantling the “separate but equal” paradigm to integrate Legal Research and Writing courses into the law school curriculum is a long-term proposition that is unlikely to succeed through a single campaign. At University of New Mexico, several negative hierarchical structures have stood in the way of curricular integration, including some surprising ones that arise from within the legal writing and research faculties. In this session, we’ll discuss these structures, the tools we are using to challenge them, and the successes we have experienced thus far.