Professor Austin

I am a Professor of the Practice at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.*

In case the JD, PhD credentials seem overly fancy, I had a rural Colorado working-class childhood. I grew up loving animals and reading, and being mercilessly bullied for being a nerd and a prude. My high school nickname was Snow White. I studied Music Education at the University of Colorado in Boulder, where I was relieved to find other nerds. I taught middle school for 3 years before putting myself through night law school at the University of San Francisco while working full time for a law firm. I was a corporate trainer for a legal research company for 7 years, where I discovered I should be teaching adults. I earned my PhD in Education at night, at the University of Denver, while teaching full time. I have taught at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law since 1997.

I am a nationally recognized scholar and expert in lawyer well-being. I write and speak about how neuroscience and psychology research can help people improve their performance and well-being by enhancing brain health and mental strength. I am the author of The Legal Brain: A Lawyer’s Guide to Well-being and Better Job Performance, Cambridge University Press (2024), an essential guide for legal professionals seeking to understand the impact of chronic stress on their brain and mental health. The book translates complex scientific concepts into actionable advice for those looking to enhance their well-being and thrive amidst the demands and stressors of the profession. Chapters cover optimizing cognitive fitness and performance, avoiding or healing cognitive damage, and protecting “the lawyer brain.”

I teach Lawyering Process and Professionalism and Well-being Skills for the Effective Lawyer. I received the University of Denver Distinguished Teaching Award in 2019, the William T. Driscoll Master Educator Award in 2001, and the Civility in Practice Award from the Adams Broomfield Bar Association in 2023. I have earned seven grants and three fellowships to support my work. My law review articles made me a Top 10% of Authors on SSRN (the website where legal scholarship can be downloaded for free) by all-time downloads per monthly statistics from 2017-2023. I have completed two certificate programs through the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work: Animals and Human Health Certificate on January 29, 2021, and Humane Education Practitioner Certificate on May 20, 2024.

I still love animals, and after years of fostering and adopting greyhounds, I now cohabitate with a feisty black cat who provides comic relief, and two Goldendoodles, one of whom is certified with me as a therapy dog team serving stressed adults. The other is still too young for the therapy team test. Both are living their best doodle lives and serving as my mindfulness coaches.

* This means I am long-term contract full-time faculty. Long-term contract faculty at higher education institutions earn contracts of varying lengths and they do not enjoy tenure. They secure their contracts through a performance evaluation process similar to tenure-track performance reviews. They often make the same major contributions to the institution: teaching, service, and scholarship, however they do not enjoy the same degree of job security, nor are they paid as much as tenure-track or tenured faculty. This applies to me.