Ms. Pennell practices in commercial litigation, with an emphasis in the area of ad valorem tax. She received her bachelor's degree from the State University College of New York at Geneseo and her M.L.S. degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Ms. Pennell received her J.D. degree from Southern Methodist University School of Law in 1982, where she was the Texas Survey Editor of the Southwestern Law Journal. She has been admitted to the State Bar of Texas, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.