During high school, he spent one year as an exchange student in Johannesburg.
[2] He graduated with a degree in political science from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 1996 and received a Juris Doctor from University of Idaho College of Law in 2000.
Allen worked in private practice from September 2000 to December 2003.
In 2011, Allen became director of the Office of Public Advocacy (OPA) within the Alaska Department of Administration.
He was succeeded by John Novak, a former assistant district attorney in Anchorage.