Born in 1957, Spoo was educated at Lawrence University, and received a BA degree in English in 1979.
[2] Spoo worked as a lecturer at Princeton from 1984 until he joined the University of Tulsa in 1988.
He held positions as an attorney at various firms between 2000 and 2008, often simultaneously with his academic appointments.
[3] In 2012, Spoo was promoted to Chapman Distinguished Professor at the University of Tulsa College of Law.
"[7] Effective on January 1, 2024, Spoo joined the faculty of Princeton University as the endowed Leonard L. Milberg '53 Professor in Irish Letters.