2018 General Counsel Panelist | Susan (Susie) L. Lees

Susan (Susie) L. Lees

Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary | The Allstate Corporation

She leads Allstate’s 1,600-person legal team to guide the company’s business strategy, ensure sound compliance and foster a healthy legal, legislative and regulatory environment, all grounded in a culture of social responsibility. Lees joined Allstate in 1988 progressively holding leadership positions with increasing responsibility, including her previous role as senior vice president and deputy general counsel for Allstate Financial. During her extensive tenure at Allstate, Lees led a multitude of complex initiatives, including major acquisitions. While leading the corporate law division of Allstate’s law and regulation department, she gained deep experience working with business areas across the broader corporation. Earlier in her career, Lees built a foundation of business acumen through professional sales roles at Celanese Corp. and Exxon Chemical.
She has been a champion of solutions to key societal issues and serves on The Allstate Foundation Board of Trustees. Lees also serves on the boards of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, the National Association of Women Lawyers, Rand Institute for Civil Justice, the Institute for Legal Reform and the Children’s Hospital of Chicago Medical Center / Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Lees is past-president of the board of directors for the Riverside Foundation, a nonprofit organization offering life-enrichment opportunities to adults with developmental disabilities, and she is a former member of the Board of Directors for the Association of Life Insurance Counsel. She believes deeply in the importance of giving back and encourages all team members to engage with their local communities.
Lees holds an A.B. degree in political science from Brown University and a J.D. from the University of Oklahoma College of Law.