Dr Ellen Gordon-Bouvier

Ellen joined Exeter University in 2022, having previously taught at Oxford Brookes University. Her research interests are focused around various aspects of Family Law, with a particular interest in the financial consequences of relationship breakdown. Ellen is currently working on a project on economic abuse and has an interest in the link between domestic abuse and financial provision on divorce. Her 2020 monograph Relational Vulnerability: Theory Law and the Private Family critiqued the different ways in which the legal system devalues caregiving contributions on relationship breakdown. Ellen has published widely in a variety of legal journals and edited collections, as well as two textbooks. She is regularly invited to give papers at national and international conferences on areas of her research. She is a member of the AHRC and ESRC Peer Review College. 

Ellen is the Departmental Director for Postgraduate Research (DDPGR) in the Law School and oversees the journeys of the School's PhD and masters students, from admission to graduation. She is committed to providing a stimulating and supportive student community, including for distance learning students. She also offers support to supervisors and delivers training on effective supervision. She has undertaken leadership training through the Advance HE's Aurora Programme. 

Ellen has a background as a family law solicitor and maintains various links to the legal profession, including having been a long-standing committee member of the Law Society's Family Law Committee. At Oxford Brookes University, she led the national pro-bono project, CLOCK, which trained students to provide assistance to unrepresented litigants at court and developed effective working relationships with the local judiciary and practitioners.

Ellen has extensive experience of teaching on a range of modules, including Family Law, Land Law, and Equity and Trusts. She is passionate about ensuring that these subjects are made accessible and interesting to students.

Research supervision:

Ellen has supervised PhD students to completion and has acted as PhD examiner. She welcomes approaches from any potential PhD students with an interest in family law, financial provision, family property, vulnerability theory and feminist approaches to law, or any other topic that broadly aligns with her own research interests.