Chief Judge Michael P. Allen
Chief Judge Michael Allen was nominated by the President of the United States in June 2017. He was confirmed by the United States Senate, and appointed a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in August 2017. United States District Judge Elizabeth Kovachevich of the Middle District of Florida administered the judicial oath to Chief Judge Allen on August 11, 2017. He became Chief Judge of the Court in September 2024.
For 16 years before his judicial appointment, Chief Judge Allen was a tenured full professor of law at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Florida. He was also the director of Stetson's Veterans Law Institute, and he spent 4 years as the College of Law's associate dean. Chief Judge Allen also served as a visiting professor of law at the University of Illinois College of Law. Before entering teaching, Chief Judge Allen practiced law for 9 years in the litigation department of the Boston-based international law firm Ropes & Gray.
Chief Judge Allen graduated summa cum laude from the University of Rochester earning bachelor's degrees in American history and political science. He received his juris doctor from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar during his final 2 years.
As a professor, Chief Judge Allen taught courses in constitutional law, civil procedure, federal courts, remedies, and veterans benefits law. He has been a prolific author, co-writing 2 books and more than 25 articles and essays. Chief Judge Allen also received numerous awards for his scholarship and teaching including the Stetson University Award for Excellence in Scholarship, the Brown-Dickerson Award for Excellence in Scholarship, the Stetson University Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the Stetson University Award for Excellence in Professionalism and Career Development. He also received the Stetson's Golden Apple Award for teaching and was twice named the best all-around professor.
Chief Judge Allen was also a frequent speaker at community and professional groups while in legal education. Among his speaking engagements were featured roles at the judicial conferences of the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In addition, Chief Judge Allen testified before the Veterans' Affairs Committees of both the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives.
Before taking the bench, Chief Judge Allen was active in professional associations. He served on the Board of Trustees of the Southeastern Association of Law Schools and was the Chair of the American Association of Law Schools' sections on Remedies and New Law Teachers.
