Penelope Russell
School of Law
Lecturer in Law
Convenor of the Family Law module
+44 114 222 6873
Full contact details
School of Law
CLG02
Bartolomé House
Winter Street
Sheffield
S3 7ND
- Profile
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After working as a family law solicitor in leading law firms for nine years, I joined the School of Law in 2003. I initially taught family law on the Legal Practice Course but now teach family law at an undergraduate level, as well as Criminal Law and Justice. I am Chair of the Law School Ethics Committee and a Senior Fellow of the HEA.
- Qualifications
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- MA Jurisprudence, St Anne’s College, Oxford
- MEd University of Sheffield
- Research interests
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My research interests are diverse but all involve family law. Past projects comprise occupational culture and societal impact as well as family law history. I also am a contributor to the textbook 'Family Law', Ruth Lamont (ed), (OUP 2022).
Recent publications:
Russell P (2024) Brave new world? Care and custody of children at the Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes in mid-Victorian England. American Journal of Legal History.Russell P, 'Matrimonial Causes Act 1937', in Auchmuty, Rackley and Takayanagi (eds), Women's Legal Landmarks in the Interwar Years, (Hart, 2024).
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Re-tying the knot? Remarriage and divorce by consent in mid-Victorian England.. American Journal of Legal History, 59(2), 257-285. View this article in WRRO
- Willingness to innovate in family law solicitor practice in England and Wales: a qualitative study. Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 41(2), 153-170. View this article in WRRO
- Family Law: Periodical payments beyond reasonable needs? Survey data. European Journal of Current Legal Issues, 20(2). View this article in WRRO
- Periodical payments beyond reasonable needs? Survey data. Web Journal of Current Legal Issues, 20(2).
- Research: An Empirical Exploration of Parental Responsibility for Step-Parents. Child and Family Law Quarterly, 26(3), 301-321. View this article in WRRO
- Brave new world? Care and custody of children at the Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes in mid-Victorian England. American Journal of Legal History.
- A History of Divorce Law: Reform in England from the Victorian to Interwar Years. The Journal of Legal History, 1-3.
- Re-tying the knot? Remarriage and divorce by consent in mid-Victorian England.. American Journal of Legal History, 59(2), 257-285. View this article in WRRO
- Research group
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Areas of Research Supervision
- Family law – recent research supervision includes the prioritising of domestic violence services and the effect of cost increases on local authority decision making in care proceedings
- Legal practice – research supervision includes perceptions of legal executives within the profession and the implications for legal training
- Teaching interests
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I am a great believer in encouraging active learning. I try to make learning fun, by using a variety of exercises within seminars such as student presentations, negotiation sessions, debates and methods such as 'pass the pen' whiteboard exercises.
I read widely about pedagogic research and am always open to suggestions from students and the wider academic community.
- Teaching activities
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The modules I teach are:
Undergraduate
- Family Law (Convenor)
- Criminal Law and Justice
- Professional activities and memberships
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- Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
- External examiner for the University of Law dissertation component of their LLM LPC programme.
- Contributor to Family Law, Ruth Lamont (ed), (OUP 2018).
Recent Presentations
- Speaker ‘Parental Responsibility: step-parent perspectives’, Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference on 4th April 2012 at Leicester De Montford Law School.
- Panel speaker ‘pressing problems in law and legal education’ Society of Legal Scholars Annual Conference on 11th September 2012 at the University of Bristol.
- Speaker ‘Mother, Father, Parent, what’s in a name?’ Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference on 28th March 2013 at York Law School with Lucy Yeatman and Kim Everett from Greenwich University
- Speaker ‘Moving the goal posts: specialisation, socialisation and minimum standards for entry into the legal profession’ WG Hart Legal Workshop 2014
- Invited speaker ‘Women’s Legal Landmarks: celebrating the history of women and law’ on 6th December 2018 at Manchester Metropolitan University.