Professor Oliver earned her JD in 1990 from the University of Cincinnati where she was a Fellow in the Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights and Articles Editor of the Human Rights Quarterly, a member of Law Review, and recipient of the William Worthington Prize for Best Case Note. After law school, Professor Oliver worked as a Law Clerk for Judge David A. Nelson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She has also served as in-house counsel for Community Mutual Insurance Company in Cincinnati and FFG Insurance Company in Dallas. Also while living in Dallas, she taught courses in Lawyering and in Legal Research and Writing at Southern Methodist University School of Law.
In 2009, Professor Oliver became the Associate Dean for Curriculum and Student Affairs and Professor of Legal Research and Writing. She has taught Legal Research and Writing, Advocacy, and coordinated the Academic Success Program. Professor Oliver is the author of Coming Face-to-Face with a Legal Research and Writing Client, 13 Persps. 149 (2005).