Upon graduating from the University of Houston Law Center in 2017, Robert Denzer hopes to continue a career in the oil and gas industry.
July 19, 2016 — The combination of ties to the oil and gas industry, and a strong part-time law program are what drew Robert Denzer to the city of Houston, and the University of Houston Law Center.
As Denzer enters his 4L year at the Law Center, he will do so with some financial relief as the recipient of the Rocky Mountain Scholarship in May, and the Energy Mineral Law Foundation Scholarship in June.
Denzer said he is grateful to see his hard work rewarded.
"Someone takes a look at an application, and they make an investment in that individual," he said. "It was just really cool that someone said they were going to make an investment in me."
Denzer is a native of Broomfield, Colorado, and earned a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2012. He recently had summer clerkships at HooverSlovacek LLP and Pagel, Davis & Hill P.C., and is senior articles editor for the Houston Journal of Health Law & Policy. He will be clerking with Looper Goodwine during the fall.
Since 2012, Denzer has juggled law school with a full-time job, working as an oil field landman and contractor for Marathon Oil.
"You have to give up certain things to make it work," Denzer said. "You don't really do much on the weekends, and just study. It's been a big test in my ability to multitask."
Despite the sacrifice and challenge of balancing school and work, Denzer said his experience in the Law Center's part-time program has been a good fit for him.
"I really appreciate the fact the night program uses a lot of adjunct professors," he said. "You get a different perspective from somebody if they're in court that day and teaching a course at night. It's more of a person-to-person conversation as opposed to a student-teacher conversation. It feels like more of a personal connection with your professors because you have smaller classes."
Already armed with an abundance of oil and gas experience, Denzer said he hopes to find his place in the field of energy law after he graduates from the Law Center.
"I'm hoping to become a good advocate to my clients and to be well versed in oil and gas so I can provide great representation," he said, adding that he hopes as a new attorney his experience in the field will reflect well on the Law Center.
