Spencer Clough

administrator

Spencer Clough

Associate Dean

Law School / Library

Contact

508-985-1161

508-985-1182

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UMass School of Law 101

Education

State University of New York at BuffaloJD
State University of New York at BuffaloMLS
University of PittsburghMA
State University of New York at BuffaloBA

Teaching

  • Statutory Interpretation
  • Administrative Law

Teaching

Programs

Teaching

Courses

The work of state and federal legislatures, explored with the aim of preparing students for the effect of such legislation on their professional lives and work. Legislation is the most concrete, direct statement of governmental policy impacting a broad range of legal subjects. For attorneys, legislation is at the center of significant amounts of their work, involving statutory application and interpretation by courts and administrative agencies. Attorneys need to be skilled in locating statutes and related materials, understanding the process and context of law making, as well as developing the analytic skills necessary for statutory interpretation and argument.

Professional background

As a law librarian, Professor Clough brings over thirty years of experience to UMass Law. Prior to his arrival at Southern New England School of Law, he spent six years on Beacon Hill as the Assistant Director/Head of Reference at the State Library for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts where he provided library services to the Governor’s office, executive branch agencies, and the General Court.

Earlier in his career, Spencer was the Associate Director for Public Services at the University of Connecticut School of Law library. He served as an Associate Librarian at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and began his library career while a law student at the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law.

Professor Clough is admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A member of Phi Beta Kappa, the American Association of Law Libraries, the American Bar Association, and the American Library Association, he was also an elected member of the library trustees for the Kingston Public Library for 17 years and was a founding member of the Kingston Public Library Foundation Kingston, Massachusetts.