Legal News
After spending two summers in Grand Rapids while working on his law degree, Varnum attorney Justin Allen knew the city was a place he could enjoy starting a new phase of life and embarking on his legal career. Michigan’s second-largest city boasts a dynamic mix of art, theater, museums, festivals, and restaurants.
Now, Allen has the opportunity to give back to one of the city’s cultural assets. In January, the South Lyon native joined the Board of Trustees for Opera Grand Rapids, to help strengthen the organization’s ability to deliver high-quality opera performances and expand its reach within the community.
“I jumped at the chance,” said Allen, who notes Varnum attorneys have previously served on the board. “I enjoy classical music and have attended symphony performances here before and it just seemed like a really great opportunity to get involved in supporting the arts in Grand Rapids.”
Opera Grand Rapids was established in 1967 and is the longest running professional opera company in Michigan, according to Emilee Syrewicze, the organization’s executive director. The productions, produced and presented locally, include comedic opera, grand opera, and a vibrant contemporary program.
“We also have a world premiere opera streaming on PBS. It is the first cinematic capture of an opera ever,” said Syrewicze. “‘Stinney: An American Execution’ is currently streaming on pbs.org.”
Allen, who received his bachelor of arts from Michigan State University and his J.D. from Vanderbilt University College of Law, is an associate attorney on Varnum’s Litigation and ADR Practice Team. He focuses his practice on probate litigation, including will contests, trust disputes, contested guardian and conservator matters, and petitions for mental health treatment, and complex commercial litigation in a variety of fields.
While at MSU’s James Madison College, Allen interned for the Michigan Association of Counties, where he learned how government works at the county level.
“I got to meet county commissioners from across the state who would come to the Michigan Association of Counties headquarters for committee meetings and legislative advocacy days in Lansing, which was a really cool part of that experience,” recalls Allen. “It was a great way to meet people from a variety of different careers who were involved in their local government.”
He then worked as a Legislative Assistant for Capitol Services, a lobbying and governmental consulting firm in Lansing, assisting clients with legislative tracking, research, and communications.
“I enjoyed working for Capitol Services, but I didn’t think I wanted to spend my career either at a lobbying firm or exclusively in state politics in Michigan,” said Allen. That was when he decided he wanted to pursue a career as an attorney.
“I do enjoy advocating on behalf of others and helping others — now it’s through the court system — but what I thought of it at the time was through advocacy,” said Allen, of his draw to the legal profession.
The summer after his first year of law school at Vanderbilt in Nashville, Allen worked in Grand Rapids as a legal intern for U.S. Magistrate Judge Phillip Green, of the Western District of Michigan.
“That experience exposed me to the federal court system,” said Allen. “Getting to know Judge Green a little bit and learn from him was great. Before he was a magistrate judge, he was in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Michigan, so learning from him from that perspective as a former assistant U.S. attorney was a great opportunity.”
The summer prior to graduating from law school, Allen worked as a summer associate at Varnum, then was hired as an associate attorney in January 2021.
Each day is different, he says, and he enjoys the variety – from meeting with clients, writing briefs, arguing a motion, mediating, or going to trial.
“There’s a lot of different types of advocacy, whether that’s arguing a motion or going to a bench trial, or jury trial, mediation with clients or going to arbitration with clients,” said Allen. “I’ve done several jury trials over the last couple of years and each of those is a really unique experience with respect to picking the jury pool, hearing at the end of the trial what the jurors focused on, and what the basis for their decision is. It’s always interesting.”
Allen also recently joined the Board of Trustees for the Legal Assistance Center, a nonprofit in Kent County that provides support and resources to help unrepresented parties navigate the legal system. He also volunteers with the Heart of West Michigan United Way, which provides support for many nonprofits throughout the West Michigan community.
In his role on Opera Grand Rapids’ Board of Trustees, Allen, along with 13 other members from various professional sectors, will assist with legal/financial oversight, program promotion, and community outreach.
“We are delighted to have Justin Allen join the board of Opera Grand Rapids,” said Win Irwin, chairman of the board for Opera Grand Rapids. “He brings to the board legal experience and a love of the arts in West Michigan while representing our company’s second largest group of patrons – those under 40.”
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