Allison devotes her practice to guiding management through a wide array of organizational conflicts and to vigorously defending clients facing agency actions or litigation. In devising custom solutions for clients, Allison capitalizes on nearly 20 years as an employment litigator, trial attorney, and strategic partner, plus a unique set of soft skills that have made her indispensable to clients navigating high-profile matters requiring discernment and discretion.
Allison’s employment litigation practice emphasizes defense of claims of discrimination and harassment in private lawsuits, as well as government agency actions under federal and state statutes. In addition to single-plaintiff litigation, Allison is well-versed in implementing sophisticated and ultimately successful defense strategies in high-profile multi-plaintiff and class action cases. Allison’s current and past clients include Fortune-ranked corporations in the luxury, fashion and retail, banking, telecommunications, motor vehicle, and pharmaceutical sectors.
More than a litigator, Allison is a strategic partner to her clients and, as such, devotes a significant portion of her practice to counseling clients facing a variety of issues. Having been seconded multiple times to clients, Allison brings valuable in-house perspective to the solutions she proposes.
In March 2022, Allison was appointed by the Illinois Governor to the role of Commissioner of the Executive Ethics Commission (“EEC”), a key agency for sweeping ethics reform for the State of Illinois. Allison serves in this critical role with state senate confirmation alongside her position as partner at the firm.
Allison maintains a successful pro bono practice that has included representing inmates bringing claims of civil rights violations, immigrants seeking asylum and other relief under federal immigration laws, honorably discharged veterans seeking benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs and branches of the armed forces, and first-time home buyers formerly housed in Chicago Housing Authority units and receiving Section 8 benefits. Allison received her alma mater’s Distinguished Alumni Public Service Award in 2017.
Prior to her legal career, Allison worked in fundraising and grant writing, serving in positions in large cultural institutions in New York and at the New York City Emergency Management Office.
