Download Magazine - Levin College of Law - University of Florida

I began law school at the age of 34 as a single mother of
three small children. Survival and a subsequent job ...
were my primary concerns. I found myself, however,
‘‘completely seduced by the intellectual excitement ...
‘‘
Penelope Bryan (JD 81)
Professor of Law
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs
University of Denver
My professional path has remained unconventional and, in some senses, miraculous.
I received my undergraduate degree from an extension program that Rollins College
offered at Patrick Air Force Base, an inauspicious beginning for an academic.
I also began law school at the age of 34 as a single mother of three small children.
Survival and a subsequent job that could support me and my children were my primary
concerns. I found myself, however, completely seduced by the intellectual excitement
involved in the study of law. After final exams (do I dare admit this), I would sit
quietly in the library and read constitutional law cases in their unedited glory.
After graduation I worked as a civil litigator for several years in Gainesville. I
loved litigation (still do), but I craved more intellectual depth. After much agony I
decided to become a law professor, a nearly impossible task at the age of 40. Many
counseled me against this improvident decision, and my lawyer friends had great
difficulty accepting my decision to close my practice. Some never did.
Due to life experiences and professional exposure, I decided that I wanted to teach
family law from an interdisciplinary perspective. I spent the next three years in graduate
school and earned a masters degree in family sociology.
The year after I earned that degree, I received an offer to teach at the University
of Denver College of Law—a slightly miraculous turn of events for a 43-year-old
graduate of an extension program. To complete the miracle, I always had wanted
to live in Colorado, and the law school actually wanted me to teach family law and
civil procedure!
Over the years as an academic, I have maintained my love of law practice as well
as theory. I have served as an expert consultant on numerous Colorado divorce cases,
set several precedents in Colorado, and supervised students in family law and child
advocacy clinics.
I bring to my scholarship practical as well as interdisciplinary and feminist insights.
In 2006 I published my first book titled, Constructive Divorce: Procedural Justice
and Sociolegal Reform. I currently am writing a second book that tells the life and
legal stories of mothers who lost custody of their children when they made allegations
of child sexual abuse against the fathers. Recently I became the associate dean for
Academic Affairs at my law school, where I continue to teach and write.
The moral of this story: Choose and live your path in law with passion—the
rewards are many.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
• Helped set several precedents in
the Colorado Court of Appeals and
the Colorado Supreme Court
• Book Constructive Divorce:
Procedural Justice and Sociolegal
Reform in 2006
• Presented the Provost’s Lecture
about my scholarship to the
University of Denver academic
community in 2007
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