Susan F. Filan is Senior Legal Analyst for MSNBC

MSNBC

MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...

, former prosecutor for the State of Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

, and a trial lawyer.

Early career

In 1991, she began her career as a criminal defense attorney for a legal aid clinic, in New Haven, CT, representing indigent defendants charged with crimes. She then went into private practice where she specialized in criminal defense and matrimonial law at both the trial and appellate level in state and federal court. In 1998, Filan was hired by the State Attorney's office for The Division of Criminal Justice which consists of the Office of the Chief State's Attorney and the State's Attorneys for each of the 13 Judicial Districts in Connecticut. They, along with Assistant State's Attorneys, are Connecticut's prosecutors—the public officials known in many other states, and in TV lore, as District Attorneys, or the "D.A." Filan was one of the more than 500 prosecutors, inspectors and administrative and support staff who are responsible for the investigation and prosecution of crime in Connecticut. She was assigned to the Gang and Continuing Crime Unit. In 2003, Filan transferred to the Judicial District of Fairfield at Bridgeport as an Assistant State's Attorney (prosecutor).

TV Legal Analyst

In 2005, Filan began providing commentary on MSNBC

MSNBC

MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...

, Fox News, CNN

CNN

Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

, Court TV

Court TV

truTV is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Time Warner. The network launched as Court TV in 1991, changing to truTV in 2008...

, ABC News

ABC News

ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...

, CBS News

CBS News

CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...

, and BBC News

BBC News

BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...

 in 2005 on several high-profile cases including Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

 and Scott Peterson

Scott Peterson

Scott Lee Peterson , an American, was convicted of murdering his wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn child in Modesto, California, in 2002. Peterson's arrest and subsequent trial dominated the American news media until 2005, when he was sentenced to death by lethal injection...

. In May 2005, Filan resigned as a prosecutor to pursue a career in media when she was hired by NBC News

NBC News

NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...

 and MSNBC

MSNBC

MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...

 to provide exclusive legal analysis of the Michael Jackson trial. She covered the trial from Santa Maria, California

Santa Maria, California

Santa Maria is a city in Santa Barbara County, on the Central Coast of California. The 2010 census population was 100,062, putting it ahead of Santa Barbara for the first time and making it the largest city in the county...

. After Jackson's acquittal on all charges, Filan returned home and began providing legal analysis for MSNBC and occasionally appeared on NBC. In 2006, she was promoted to MSNBC Senior Analyst.

In addition to appearing as an analyst on MSNBC's daytime and primetime programs, Filan also has served as a guest host for "The Abrams Report

The Abrams Report

The Abrams Report was an American television program on MSNBC, focusing on legal and tabloid issues....

." Filan has been quoted in print media around the world.

She is a regular contributor to Women in Crime Ink

Women in Crime Ink

Women in Crime Ink is an American daily crime aggregated blog founded on March 10, 2008 as "a well of thoughts on crime and media issues from women criminal justice professionals and authors." The site offers original content and coverage of crime, media, books, literature, high-profile criminal...

, described by the Wall Street Journal as "a blog worth reading."

Credentials

Filan is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States

Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...

, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals...

, the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut

United States District Court for the District of Connecticut

The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Connecticut. The court has offices in Bridgeport, Hartford and New Haven. Appeals from the court are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit...

and the Courts of the State of Connecticut. She is a sought after public speaker and has a column on MSNBC.com called the Filan Files.

She was the past president of the Board of Quinnipiac University School of Law Alumni Association and an Alternate on the Local Grievance Panel for the Judicial District of New Haven. Ms. Filan does not yet have a Martindale rating.

Education

• Quinnipiac College School Of Law, Hamden, CT
• Juris Doctor, May 1991; Merit Scholar, 1990–91
• IOLTA Scholar, 1990–91; American Jurisprudence Award, Trial Practice, 1991
• University Of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
  • M.A., Anthropology, 1986
  • Teaching Assistant; Research Assistant; Research Grant Recipient
  • Admitted to Ph.D. Program in Anthropology

• University Of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
  • B.A., with Distinction, Anthropology, 1981

• Graduate of National Institute of Trial Advocacy’s Ten Day Regional Program
• Graduate of National Advocacy Center Trial Advocacy Program
• Graduate of Top Gun Training Program, Sea Girt, New Jersey