Meet a Colleague: Michelle Cosby Michelle Cosby is the Assistant Dean of Legal Information Services and Professor of Practice.

By Law Communications
November 15, 2023

Michelle Cosby is the Assistant Dean of Legal Information Services and Professor of Practice. She has worked at W&L Law since June 2022. Michelle is originally from Indiana.

Q. Where is your favorite location on the W&L campus?
My favorite location on campus is the Senshin’an Tea Room in the Watson Pavilion. You get to experience a traditional Japanese tea ceremony with others with matcha tea served in a beautiful bowl and a traditional sweet.

Q. What is your favorite thing to do when you are not working?
Cruises! I love cruise travel. I get to unpack once but experience several different locations. Cruise travel has reinvited itself, there are Broadway-quality shows, high-quality food, and fantastic rooms.

Q. Book/Podcast/TV Show Recommendation?
I am a reality TV show nerd. I enjoy competition shows like “Survivor” or “The Traitors.” I highly recommend “The Traitors” for those that like strategy games. The US and UK versions are available to stream on Peacock. As a companion to these shows, I listen to Rob Has a Podcast. Rob is a former “Survivor” contestant and with the help of guests, dives deep into the strategy of these shows.

Q. Who inspired you to teach?
As a law librarian, teaching was not my goal when I started in the profession. My mission was to help others find the law as efficiently as possible. To that point, my mentor was one of the law librarians from my law school, Jennifer Bryan.

Q. What courses are you teaching this semester?
I am not teaching this semester as my primary role with the law school is administration. For the spring semester, I will teach Introduction to Technology in Legal Practice.

Q. If you could have coffee or tea with one person, who would it be and why?
I would like to have coffee with a fictional character, Xena Warrior Princess (portrayed by actress Lucy Lawless). She is an innovative problem solver and cares deeply for others.

Q. What is an accomplishment you are proud of?
I am proud of serving as President of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) in 2019-2020. AALL is the national association for the profession of law librarianship and has about 3800 members. I was able to meet members nationally and internationally, testify in front of Congress, and see Garth Brooks receive the Library of Congress’ Gershwin Prize. Additionally, my term spanned when COVID hit and the death of George Floyd, which was tough and full of many lessons, but I am proud of the result.

Q. Favorite food/restaurant/drink?
Indian food is my absolute favorite food on the planet. Chicken Tikka Masala with a side of Onion Kulcha, yum! Closer to Lexington, I really like Remedy Burger in Staunton.

Q. Most used/enjoyable app on your phone?
I like TikTok! On my For You page, I have a nice mix of current events, cooking, and comedy.

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