Mr. Allen received his undergraduate degree in economics from Brigham Young University, where he graduated summa cum laude in August of 1974. In 1978, he graduated cum laude from Brigham Young University School of Law in the top 15% of his class. While in law school, he was a member of the Moot Court Board of Advocates and received the Hugh B. Brown Barristers Award for outstanding preparation and performance in the classroom. Upon graduation, Mr. Allen was admitted to the New Mexico Bar and served for two years as a law clerk to the Honorable H. Vearle Payne, United States District Court Judge. Thereafter, he was employed for five years as an associate with the Albuquerque law firm of Rodey, Dickason, Sloan, Akin & Robb, P.A. Mr. Allen left the Rodey firm in July 1985, to become a shareholder with Allen, Shepherd & Lewis, P.A.

Mr. Allen's experience includes extensive jury trials in the state and federal district courts and appellate arguments before the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of the State of New Mexico, the United States Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals (en banc), and the United States Supreme Court. He concentrates his practice primarily in insurance defense, including medical malpractice, products liability, premises liability, nursing home liability, and other general tort litigation. Mr. Allen is rated "AV" in the Martindale Hubbell Law Directory, and is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers.