SUSAN A. OWEN

Susan Owen has spent more than 30 years protecting her family. However, in addition to her biological family, this “family” is not bound by blood but rather by choice. Susan’s relationship with the clients at Owen Patterson & Owen goes far beyond a monetary exchange. Their pain is her fuel in the battle for justice. She specializes in personal injury cases involving vehicle accidents, product liability, mass tort, dog bites, dangerous conditions of public and private premises, harassment, discrimination, child and elder abuse, and wrongful death. As managing partner of Owen Patterson & Owen, Susan oversees each case handled by the firm, from intake to resolution.

Equally impactful as the millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts Susan has recovered are the lives she has helped rebuild through her work on behalf of her clients. A mother of six, she has never encountered a case where she would not take on a hard fight, even when the circumstances were less than favorable, especially when the most vulnerable in our society were injured. Her philosophy is this: There are some cases you pursue because your heart will not let you do otherwise. This had led to victories for victims of elder abuse, child molestation, playground and parking lot injuries, and horrible motorcycle accidents. This same dogged determination has served Susan well throughout her career and led to the victory she has achieved for countless victims, including the victims and their families of one of the deadliest mass shootings of all time at the Route 91 Harvest festival.

On October 1, 2017, a gunman opened fire at the Las Vegas music festival, leaving 58 dead and hundreds more wounded. Susan filed the first lawsuit in this case and represented more than 100 victims. This case would not only govern her life for over three years but also radically shift her perspective on the field of personal injury. Witnessing her clients’ emotional trauma, she is even more adamant about making sure her clients receive the necessary emotional support in addition to medical treatment for their physical injuries. In October 2020, a judge approved an $800 million settlement. However, her support for these victims and their families does not stop there. She understands that while justice may be seemingly served, this event will impact their lives — and hers — forever.

Susan’s commitment to advocating for sexual abuse victims continues to attract national attention. Her legal efforts in the sexual abuse lawsuit against former University of Southern California (USC) campus gynecologist Dr. George Tyndall and the university have encouraged hundreds of women to come forward. Representing several of the victims, she has perpetuated a movement that holds sexual predators accountable for their actions in addition to the institutions that enable the victimization to continue. For Susan, this case was especially personal. Her son attended USC, inducting her into the “Trojan family” by association. To learn of the sexual misconduct allegations occurring on the university’s watch in the Los Angeles Times was gut-wrenching. True to her propensity for giving young women a voice, Susan knew she could not stand by and not help these women. Her heart-on-her-sleeve approach has garnered her honors among her peers, including being named to the California Super Lawyers list several times. She also earned recognition as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers by The National Trial Lawyers organization and Top Litigator. A true lawyer of the people, Susan was recognized as the Ultimate Female Lawyer by the readers of Elite Magazine.

Before settling on a career in personal injury, Susan began her legal career in construction and commercial litigation, where she honed her litigation skills, handling up to 300 cases at a time. Because of this, Susan has developed a knack for persuasion that has served clients inside and outside of the courtroom. A cum laude graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, Susan received her J.D. degree from the Hastings College of the Law. She is licensed to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the California Supreme Court, and the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Her professional memberships include the California Bar Association, Los Angeles Bar Association, and the Santa Clarita Bar Association.

Some of Susan’s fondest childhood memories are digging through the crates of antique books at the Saugus swap meet, and she continues to seek out old books, researching their origin, wherever she travels with her family. Now, many decades later, she is able, whether with her decades of experience in research, or her grit and determination, to win on behalf of her clients.