Susan grew up on a family farm in the piney woods of southwest Mississippi, just across the state line from Britney Spears. She left the farm to go to Vanderbilt University and then the University of Mississippi Law School. After graduating from law school, she clerked for federal judges in Mississippi, Judge Tom S. Lee of the Southern District of Mississippi, and Judge E. Grady Jolly of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

She returned to Nashville to practice with Neal & Harwell, but Mississippi drew her back for a few years. She returned to Nashville where she has written briefs and provided litigation strategy and evaluation services for lawyers around the country in complex commercial litigation for more than twenty-five years. She loved the opportunity to make money from her obsession to research everything and advise clients on the best ways to structure their claims and arguments based on that research. These skills helped her work in a many different types of cases, including one as co-counsel in a case that resulted in the largest legal malpractice verdict in the country. 

Although she loved her legal work, she took a break to teach eighth grade English at J.T. Moore Middle School in Nashville. An experience she credits with sharpening her ability to communicate clearly under pressure.

Susan has been attracted to the benefits of mediation for years. The week before Katrina, she completed her mediation training at Pepperdine University. With that training, she assisted her lawyer clients in their own mediation, helping to prepare the clients for mediation, developing mediation strategies, and evaluating the claims of all sides.

She completed more mediation training at Lipscomb University, the Justice Center of Atlanta, the Early Dispute Resolution Institute, and the National Association of Realtors. She has also completed training through the Institute of Applied Conflict Resolution and Mediation. Susan focuses her practice on commercial mediation and arbitration, bringing specialized training in Early Dispute Resolution, real estate transactions, and the neuroscience of decision-making to help parties reach resolutions that make sense and hold.

Susan is licensed to practice law in Tennessee and Mississippi. She is a Tennessee Rule 31 Listed Civil Mediator and a Listed Mississippi Court-Annexed Mediator. She has conducted arbitrations through FINRA and NAM.