Allison concentrates her practice on complex commercial, insurance recovery, energy, and financial services litigation. She also routinely advises clients on risk mitigation strategies including litigation cost-benefit analysis, discovery management, and conducting policy reviews. She represents a wide variety of commercial clients in both state and federal courts.
Allison represents commercial clients both large and small in breach of contract, insurance recovery, oil and gas, financial services, consumer protection, tort, and real estate cases across the United States. Allison has experience in all phases of litigation at both the trial and appellate level, including drafting and arguing dispositive motions, handling all stages of the discovery process, defending and taking depositions, and preparing for and participating in trial and appeals.
Prior to joining McGuireWoods, Allison worked as an associate at a large regional law firm in Pittsburgh.
Allison received her law degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, cum laude, where she served as the senior topics editor of the University of Pittsburgh Law Review and as a legal research and writing teaching assistant for the associate dean. During law school, Allison worked as a summer associate at a boutique corporate law firm in Pittsburgh and interned in the legal department of a national title insurance company.
Allison also received her undergraduate degree in finance from The Pennsylvania State University, graduating with high distinction.
Experience
Complex Commercial Litigation
- Defended global manufacturer in dispute involving breach of contract and UCC claims related to late or missing inventory and related lost profits.
- Defend natural gas utility in various personal injury and property damage claims throughout the state of Pennsylvania.
- Represent natural gas utility in various Pennsylvania condemnation proceedings.
- Represented university in breach of contract litigation related to alleged nonpayment of various equipment rental agreements.
Insurance Recovery
- Represented a leading Fortune 500 financial institution in ongoing pursuit of hundreds of millions of dollars in losses incurred due to a consumer data breach.
- Represent college university in coverage dispute alleging claims for extensive property damage caused by category 3 water resulting from Hurricane Florence in 2018.
- Represent ivy league university in crime policy coverage dispute for loss suffered as a result of university employee’s fraudulent purchase and sale scheme using university funds.
- Represent and advise global food product corporation regarding insurance coverage for losses of supplier inventory caused by a hurricane.
Energy Litigation
- Secured a defense verdict on behalf of midstream operator of a ntural gas gathering system in trial regarding supposed breach of right-of-way agreements enabling company to install and operate a natural gas pipeline system on certain landowners’ properties and related trespass claims. The dispute involved purported damages of almost $10 million.
- Defended a natural gas producer in a class action lawsuit involving the purported failure to pay statutory interest under the applicable state’s royalty payment act.
- Defended a Wyoming natural gas producer against claims that it improperly deducted certain costs from certain payments to royalty and overriding royalty owners.
Financial Litigation
- Represent nation-wide financial institutions in a variety of mortgage and foreclosure-related claims, including those involving pre- and post-payment interest, in several putative class actions in federal courts across the country.
- Represent nation-wide financial institutions in a variety of consumer protection and credit reporting claims, including FCRA claims and other consumer rights laws.
- Represent Global Fortune 500 financial institution in dispute over the administration and revision of multi-million dollar trust.
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University of Pittsburgh School of LawJD
cum laude, Order of the Coif, Senior Topics Editor, University of Pittsburgh Law Review
2016 -
The Pennsylvania State UniversityBSFinance
with high distinction
2013
Executive Committee Board Member, Northside Food Pantry Advisors, 2023-2026
Member, Allegheny County Bar Association
Member, Pennsylvania Bar Association
- Speaker, "Insurance Issues and Protection Against Defaulting Subcontractors", Construction Industry Challenges 2022, May 24, 2022
- Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
Selected to “Pennsylvania Rising Stars,” Civil Litigation – Defense, SuperLawyers, Thomson Reuters, 2022, 2023
- Author, Policyholders Beware – Lloyd’s is Adding New Exclusions to Limit Insurance Coverage for State-Sponsored Cyber Attacks Next Month – Are You Prepared?, Pro Policyholder, February 22, 2023
- Co-author, "3rd Circ. Judge Offers Hints On Class Cert. Evidence", Law360, July 20, 2022
- Author, Ohio Court: Expert Evidence Must Be Admissible to Be Considered at Class Certification, Class Action Countermeasures, February 8, 2022
- Author, Courts’ Clashing Standards For Evidence At Class Cert., Class Action Countermeasures, July 19, 2021
- Co-author, Courts’ Clashing Standards For Evidence At Class Cert.: Part 2, Law360, July 16, 2021
- Co-author, Courts’ Clashing Standards For Evidence At Class Cert.: Part 1, Law360, July 15, 2021
- Author, Additional EPA Guidance and Developments During the COVID-19 Era, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, April 28, 2020
- Author, Pennsylvania High Court Upholds Rule of Capture for Hydraulic Fracturing, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, January 24, 2020
- Author, Class Untethered: Court Strikes Class Allegations on Pleadings due to Insufficient Predominance Allegations, Class Action Countermeasures, July 19, 2019
- Author, The Case Against Affirmative Consent – Why the Well-Intentioned Legislation Dangerously Misses the Mark, University of Pittsburgh Law Review, Fall 2015