Gail I. Winson

Photo of Gail I. Winson
Gail I. WinsonProfessor of Law EmeritusAssociate Dean for Library and Information Services Emeritus

Contact Information

gwinson@rwu.eduCurriculum Vitae

Education

J.D., University of Florida
M.S., Library Science, Drexel University
B.A., Moravian College

Professor Winson was RWU Law's founding Library Director and one of its founding faculty members, having moved to Bristol from San Francisco in July 1993 to organize the law library collection and establish library services for the entering students. She had been a law library administrator since 1972 -- primarily in an academic setting but also in a court library, serving attorneys and judges.

Over the course of her career, Professor Winson had seen profound changes in the manner that legal research is conducted, and had met the challenges of initiating LEXIS and WESTLAW training programs, establishing computer labs for law student use and integrating electronic resources into the law library's traditional collections. She was one of the first law professors in the country to teach a course in Advanced Legal Research, aimed at preparing law students to research complicated issues using both print and electronic sources. She completed her career as Associate Dean for Library and Information Services in January 2011.

Professor Winson is a member of the Florida Bar and the State Bar of California. She also held library and teaching positions at the University of Florida College of Law in Gainesville and at Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.

Books

"Researching the Laws of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations", in Pre-Statehood Legal Materials: A Research Guide to the 50 States edited by Michael Chiorazzi (New York: Haworth, 2005)

State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations: Survey of State Documents and Law-Related Materials (Chicago: AALL Government Documents Special Interest Section, State Documents Bibliography Series, No. 3-65, 2004)

Historic Preservation Law: Annotated Survey of Sources and Literature (Littleton, CO: Rothman, 1999)

Articles

Roger Williams School of Law Mediation Clinic, 16 Australian Law Librarian 200 (2008)

Close Course Type Descriptions

Course Types

We have classified RWU Law classes under the following headers. One of the following course types will be attached to each course which will allow students to narrow down their search while looking for classes.

Core Course

Students in the first and second year are required to take classes covering the following aspects of the law—contracts, torts, property, criminal law, civil procedure, and constitutional law, evidence, and professional responsibility.  Along with these aspects, the core curriculum will develop legal reasoning skills.

Elective

After finishing the core curriculum the remaining coursework toward the degree is completed through upper level elective courses.  Students can choose courses that peak their interests or courses that go along with the track they are following.

Seminar

Seminars are classes where teachers and small groups of students focus on a specific topic and the students complete a substantial research paper.

Clinics/Externships

Inhouse Clinics and Clinical Externships legal education is law school training in which students participate in client representation under the supervision of a practicing attorney or law professor.  RWU Law's Clinical Programs offer unique and effective learning opportunities and the opportunity for practical experience while still in law school.