Quick Facts
Biography
Michael P. Allen is an American lawyer and academic who currently serves as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Prior to assuming his current role, he was a professor of law and director of the Veterans Law Institute at Stetson University College of Law.
Biography
Allen received his B.A. in American history and political science, summa cum laude, from the University of Rochester, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and his J.D. from the Columbia University School of Law, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.
Allen spent nine years in private practice as a civil trial attorney at the law firm Ropes & Gray in Boston, Massachusetts. He then joined the Stetson University College of Law faculty, where he taught courses in civil and constitutional law, as well as veterans' benefits law. He is a recognized expert on the law of veterans' benefits and has testified before Congress and published widely in the field.
Court of Veterans Claims
On June 7, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Allen to serve as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. A hearing on his nomination before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee was held on July 19, 2017. On July 20, 2017, the committee voted in favor of sending his nomination to the Senate. His nomination was approved by the full Senate in a voice vote on August 3, 2017.