Femi Cadmus

About

Leading Innovation in Legal Information

Born in New York City and educated internationally, my experience and work across multiple continents have shaped a truly global professional perspective.

My career spans over three decades in academic law librarianship at both public and private institutions, including leadership positions at Cornell, Duke, and Yale. I served as President of the American Association of Law Libraries (2018-2019) and remain actively engaged in advancing legal scholarship, technology in legal practice, and access to justice globally.

I am Founder of Law Archive and a Co-founder of LawArXiv (succeeded by Law Archive), pioneering open access legal scholarship repositories. I have served on several boards including Yale Law Journal Company Inc. and Yale Law Journal Fund Inc. as Treasurer. I hold an LL.M. in Law in Development from the University of Warwick (England), and admitted to practice in New York.

Legal Research & Instruction

Advanced legal research, international law, and innovative teaching methodologies

Technology in Law

Law practice technology, AI regulation, and digital transformation in legal services

Strategic Leadership

Library administration, collection development, and institutional partnerships

Scholarly Publishing

Open access initiatives and global legal information access

Experience

Leadership in Legal Education

Transformative Leadership in Legal Education

25+ years of academic law library leadership in public and private institutions driving innovation in legal research, pedagogy, and tech integration while championing open access to legal scholarship globally. Led organizations of 20–38 professionals with budgets up to $9M+, delivering strategic direction, operational excellence, and transformational change. Teaching courses in Technology in the Practice of Law, Advanced Legal Research, and Legal Research Clinic, shaping how future lawyers engage with information and emerging technologies. My academic appointments have included serving as Law Librarian & Professor of Law at Yale, Director of the J. Michael Goodson Law Library & the Archibald & Frances Fulk Rufty Distinguished Research Professor of Law at Duke, and the Edward Cornell Law Librarian & Professor of the Practice at Cornell.

Education & Scholarship

Academic Background & Contributions

Education

LL.M. (Law in Development), University of Warwick, Coventry, England
MLIS, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma
B.L., Nigerian Law School, Lagos Nigeria
LL.B. (Hons), University of Jos, Nigeria

Bar Memberships: Admitted to practice in New York (active) and Nigeria (inactive)

Recent Publications

New Perspectives on the Legal Treatise, Co-edited with Nicholas Mignanelli, William S. Hein (2025)
"The Role of a Leadership Institute for Academic Law Library Directors" with Michelle Cosby, AALL Spectrum (2026)
"The Making & Marketing of Law Archive" with Nor Ortiz and Mike VanderHeijden, AALL Spectrum (2025)

Teaching

Technology in the Practice of Law
Advanced Legal Research
Law Practice Technology
Legal Research Clinic
Foundations in American Law

Select Leadership & Founding Roles

President, American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) 2018-2019
Vice-President, AALL 2017-2018 | Executive Board Member 2013-2016
Founder, Law Archive 2023
Co-founder, LawArXiv 2016
Treasurer, Yale Law Journal Company Inc. 2024-2026
Treasurer, Yale Law Journal Fund Inc. 2024-2026

Select Speaking Engagements

2026: AI and the Federal Courts, District of Connecticut Judicial Conference, Old Saybrook CT
2025: Why Should Scholars Use Law Archive and CrimRxiv? International Open Access Week, O.P. Jindal Global University, India (Virtual)
2024: AI Regulation: What State Government Officials Need to Know, Council of State Governments National Conference, New Orleans, LA
2023: AI, Jurisprudence & the Rule of Law, AALS, Washington DC