Since joining the College faculty in 1982, Robert Bartels has taught a variety of courses, including Fact Investigation, Evidence, Governmental Protection of Civil Rights, Trial Advocacy, Environmental Law, Civil Procedure and the Civil Justice Clinic. He has litigated more than 300 civil and criminal cases in various state and federal courts, including four oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court, and he currently handles criminal cases for the Arizona Justice Project at the College.

Professor Bartels previously taught at the University of Iowa College of Law and was a visiting professor at the University of Colorado Law School. He was a Special Assistant Attorney of Iowa, and he is a former Deputy Chief and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona. 

Professor Bartels is a member of the Maricopa County Bar Association Task Force on Women and Minorities, and of the Boards of Directors of the Arizona Capital Representation Project and the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest. He is a past member of the Boards of Directors of the Homeless Legal Assistance Program and Community Legal Services.