BIOGRAPHY

A native North Carolinian, I studied at the University of Miami, obtaining my Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Engineering while on full scholarship from the United States Air Force. Immediately following graduation from Miami in 1979, I attended graduate school at the United States Air Force Institute of Technology, where I earned my Masters of Science degree in Facilities Management with an emphasis in Finance and Computer Information Systems one year later. After graduating from AFIT, I served in the Air Force for four more years at Williams Air Force Base in Phoenix, Arizona. During that time, I obtained my MBA from Arizona State University, graduating with honors in 1984.

After completing my MBA, I left the Air Force and worked at Intel Corporation, first in Santa Clara, California, then back in Phoenix. After five years at Intel, I decided to pursue a career in law. I graduated from the University of Notre Dame School of Law with honors in 1992. I then served as a law clerk to The Honorable Graham C. Mullen, former Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.

After serving for Judge Mullen, I began my law practice at Bell, Seltzer, Park & Gibson, a noted intellectual property boutique. Following the merger of Bell, Seltzer, Park & Gibson with Alston & Bird, I continued with Alston & Bird before joining what became Summa, Allan & Additon, where I once again practiced as part of an intellectual property boutique. At Summa, Allan & Additon, I founded and headed the firm’s intellectual property litigation practice.

Finally, after years of practicing under the standard billable-hour model, in 2009, I founded Allan IP Litigation to provide my clients with the flexible billing options they had asked for.