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Allen finds litigation a perfect fit

Allen finds litigation a perfect fit

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Susan Allen (Staff photo by Kevin Harnack)
Susan Allen (Staff photo by Kevin Harnack)

A summer internship at American Family Insurance Co. after her first year of law school brought clarity to Susan Allen and what path of law she would pursue after graduation.

“I had really no thought about litigation going into law school, but after working at American Family and seeing how litigation worked, I knew it was for me,” said Allen, a partner in Stafford Rosenbaum LLP’s Milwaukee office. “I saw it as a great challenge and how interesting it can be.”

Allen’s litigation practice focuses on products liability defense, general commercial litigation and vehicle warranty litigation.

“I really enjoy these complex, messy situations and trying to come up with a solution,” she said. “It’s like figuring out a puzzle.”

Since her cases cover a lot of issues, Allen said she relies on experts, including accident reconstruction professionals or biomedical experts who can describe how a person’s body may move during an accident.

“I literally learn something new with every case, although I wish I had paid a little more attention back when I was a teen and my dad tried to explain to me how a car works,” she said. “But seriously, I enjoy researching and learning as much as I can for each of my cases.”

After Allen gathers the research, she then gets to work on formulating and writing persuasive arguments.

“Most cases settle before you reach a trial, but there is still a lot research and arguments you need to put together during the discovery and deposition phase,” she said.

Allen recalled one “massive” environmental litigation case involving arsenic that proved to be quite challenging.

“It was very different from anything else I had ever done and was very complex,” she said. “I think I learned more about arsenic than most people would ever want to know.”

In addition to her litigation work, Allen handles some municipal work, including serving as a community prosecutor.

“Stafford is known for our municipal work and it’s something I enjoy doing besides the litigation,” she said. “It’s very different from what I do on a regular basis. I might be enforcing some traffic violations or defending [a municipality] when a claim has been made.”

Wisconsin Law Journal: What activity could you spend hours doing outside of the office?
Susan Allen: Cooking. My husband and I both love cooking and often cook together or compete against each other in cooking challenges. After a long day, I find cutting veggies or preparing dinner to be a good way to wind down.

WLJ: What app can’t you live without?
Allen: Audible. I travel quite a bit for work and listening to audio books makes the time go by and allows me to be prepared for my book club.

WLJ: What was the last movie that you saw?
Allen: ‘The Theory of Everything’

WLJ: Where is your favorite vacation spot?
Allen: Internationally, Venice has been my favorite so far. In the U.S., I would definitely have no problem revisiting Hawaii.

WLJ: If you could change one thing about you, what would you choose?
Allen: I would like to limit my worrying. While some stress and concern is definitely necessary and appropriate in the legal profession, I would like to limit the worrying to valid things that I can control, rather than everything under the sun that sneaks into my head in the middle of the night.

WLJ: Who is someone you admire?
Allen: I truly admire my father. He is one of the smartest people I know. He always taught us, including by his own actions, that sometimes the right thing to do is not the easiest or most popular thing to do, but that is not an excuse not to do it anyway.

WLJ: What was your favorite toy as a child?
Allen: I spent hours upon hours playing with Barbies.

WLJ: What was the first concert you attended?
Allen: Boyz II Men at Summerfest.

WLJ: What’s your favorite thing to do in Wisconsin?
Allen: There are so many to choose from, but I would say a favorite since I was little is visiting Door County at any time of the year.

WLJ: What is your favorite book?
Allen: ‘The Great Gatsby’

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