Robert Mead
Adjunct ProfessorParalegal
rmead@spscc.edu
Every paralegal, lawyer, and judge needs to master both the art and the science of legal research. My job as a teacher is to demystify the process by helping legal researchers understand the "why?" and "how?" of legal research as they create and strengthen new neural pathways. Research is both structured and creative and a key part of learning to think like a lawyer.
The bulk of my career has been spent helping others find answers to their legal questions. As a law librarian and legal research instructor, I've done this at the University of New Mexico and University of Kansas law schools, the Santa Fe Community College paralegal studies program, the New Mexico Supreme Court Library and now as the State Law Librarian for the Washington Supreme Court. As an attorney, I've practiced special education, elder, and social security law, and served as the Deputy Chief Public Defender for the State of New Mexico where I oversaw human resources, appellate litigtion, procurement, and contract decisions and litigated constitutional limits on caseloads.
Education
Master of Library Science, Emporia State University, 2001
Juris Doctor, University of New Mexico, 1995
Bachelor of Arts, University of New Mexico, 1992
Selected Publications
co-author of Advising the Elderly Client (Thomson Reuters, 2011 to present).
Robert A. Mead, A Eulogy for New Mexico Reports: The Evolution of Appellate Publication from 1846 to 2012, 42 N.M. L. Rev. 417 (2013).
Robert A. Mead, Unpublished Opinions and Citation Prohibitions: Judicial Muddling of California’s Developing Law of Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Committed by Health Care Providers, 37 William Mitchell L. Rev. 206 (2010).
Robert A. Mead, “Unpublished” Opinions as the Bulk of the Iceberg : Publication Patterns in the Eighth and Tenth Circuit United States Courts of Appeals, 93 Law Libr. Journ. 598 (2001).
Employment
State Law Librarian & Director of the Washington State Law Library, Washington Supreme Court, 2016 to Present
Legal Research & Writing Instructor, South Puget Sound Community College, 2018 to Present
Deputy Chief Public Defender for Administration, New Mexico Law Offices of the Public Defender, 2014 to 2016
State Law Librarian & Director of the New Mexico Supreme Court Law Library, 2006 to 2014
Adjunct Professor for Legal Research and Writing, Santa Fe Community College, 2008 to 2014
Adjunct Legal Research Professor, University of New Mexico School of Law, 2007 to 2014
Head of Public and Faculty Services, University of Kansas Wheat Law Library, 2000 to 2006
Faculty Services Librarian, University of New Mexico School of Law Library, 1997 to 2000
Sole Practice in Disability Law, 1995 to 2004
Teacher and Debate/Mock Trial Coach, The Menaul School, 1996 to 1997
Pediatric Disability Fellow, University of New Mexico Center for Development and Disabililty LEND Program, 1995 to 1996