(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.
