The Inner Circle Acknowledges, Joseph A. Custer as a Pinnacle Life Professional

Mr. Custer pursued higher education at the University of Iowa and Northern Iowa where earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with high honors in 1983. He then attended the University of Arkansas at Little Rock where he received a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree in 1989. Mr. Custer continued his scholarship at the University of Missouri in 1990 obtaining a Master of Library and Information Science in 1991 and capped his studies with a Master of Business Administration from the University of Kansas in 2012. He was admitted to practice before The Missouri Bar in 1990 and the United States Supreme Court in 2016.

Mr. Custer transitioned to academia after working in the law field for four and a half years in private practice becoming the collection development/head reference librarian and lecturer in 1995 at the Kansas University School of Law. He transitioned after three years to the position of associate director; collection development librarian; lecturer; and associate director. Adding to his exceptional career, he became head of technology services and lecturer in 2008. 

In 2010, Mr. Custer served as assistant professor of law and director of the Vincent C. Immel Law Library at the Saint Louis University School of Law. He joined the faculty of Case Western Reserve University in 2015 as associate professor of law and director of the Ben C. Green Law Library. He received a promotion to full professor of law in 2023; teaches three law classes; and is currently a member of the Faculty Senate at Case Western Reserve University.

An expert in advanced legal research; electronic discovery; and law practice technology, Mr. Custer is dedicated to keeping abreast of the most recent technology and methods by maintaining affiliation with the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis; the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association; the American Bar Association; the American Association of Law Libraries; the American Association of Law Schools; the Mid-America Association of Law Libraries; the Ohio Regional Association of Law Libraries; the Missouri Bar; and the United States Supreme Court Bar.

In addition to his professional responsibilities, Mr. Custer is an author with many published works, such as a textbook he co-authored called "Kansas Legal Research" with Carolina Academic Press in 2009. He was a contributing editor to "The Jury Expert'' with the American Society of Trial Consultants from 2005 to 2008; authored and edited the third edition of "Kansas Legal Research and Reference Guide" with Michie Publishing in 2003; and also the second edition in 1997 with the Kansas Bar Association. The attorney and educator has also contributed articles to professional journals; law reviews and journals; and chapters to books, and currently contributes regularly to the "Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Journal".

Mr. Custer has been recognized with many accolades during his prestigious career in both education and law receiving such awards as the Paper of the Year award from LexisNexis and the American Association of Law Libraries in 2009. He notes that he was part of a group of authors who received an Andrews Award from the American Association of Law Libraries in 2007; received an Individual Article Award from The University of Kansas School of Law in 2007; and a Continuing Legal Education Award from The University of Kansas School of Law in 2001, 2002, and 2003.

Teaching several law school classes, both nationally and internationally, Mr. Custer is particularly proud to have taught International Legal Research at the University of Bahçeşehir, Istanbul, Turkey, and Topics in Law: Introduction to Law and the Legal System at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, England. He has presented papers at Balliol College at the University of Oxford and the University of Hong Kong.

In his spare time, Mr. Custer enjoys music; hiking; biking; and traveling. He also loves staying in contact with his two grown children, Kaitlyn and Benjamin.

Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected]

SOURCE The Inner Circle