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About Me

I am Your Guide Through What Comes Next.

I bring 30+ years inside the legal system to Heroic Divorce™ coaching and speaking, so you make smart decisions when it matters most.

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FORMER PROSECUTOR, TRIAL LAWYER, MSNBC SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST | CERTIFIED DIVORCE COACH | CERTIFIED DIVORCE MEDIATOR

My Story

A Career Built in the Hardest Rooms

Susan Filan seated in an armchair

I help people get through hell.


Not the abstract kind. The kind where you lie awake at three in the morning wondering if you made a terrible mistake, whether your children will be okay, whether you will ever feel like yourself again.

The kind where every decision feels like it could cost you everything.


Most people enter divorce feeling like a victim. And why wouldn't they? Everything is happening to them. The fear, the loss, the overwhelm, it is relentless.


But here is what I know after thirty years inside the legal system and from having lived it myself: divorce does not have to be something that happens to you. It can be the moment you become the hero of your own story.


That is the whole idea behind Heroic Divorce™.


Every great story has a hero who faces a crisis, finds a guide, and comes through trans formed.

You are the hero. I am the guide. And the mission is not just to survive your divorce.

It is to build a life on the other side that is better than the one you were living before, a life of joy, purpose, and genuine fulfillment.


I have been in the hardest rooms, as a prosecutor trying murder cases and felonies, as a trial lawyer in state and federal courts, as a Special Master for the Regional Family Trial Docket, as an MSNBC Senior Legal Analyst covering the cases that made headlines, and as someone who has been through a high-conflict divorce myself, I know what it feels like when your entire life is on the line and you cannot think straight.


Before I was a lawyer, I was an anthropologist. I later pursued an LL.M. at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, where I also taught as a Professor of Practice.


Every discipline I learned comes to bear in this work.


Then came the accident. Five surgeries. A profound reckoning. And the decision to walk away from titles that looked good on paper, to do the work I love.

Coaching. Speaking. Writing.


Those experiences are why I do this work. Not the degrees. Not the years on national television. Not the thirty years in courtrooms.


Those things mean I know how the legal system works, how opposing counsel thinks, and what judges actually care about.


But what makes me useful to you is something else entirely.


I know the way through.


I have walked people through the darkest chapters of their lives and watched them come through it into lives of joy, purpose, and genuine fulfillment.


That is not a tagline. That is what happens when someone stops reacting out of fear and starts making decisions from a place of clarity and strategy.

That is What I do

Approach

This Is Not Generic Coaching

Susan Filan guiding a client through divorce strategy in a coaching session

Thousands of clients helped over three decades of practice in criminal defense, matrimonial law, mediation, and coaching.

I don't work from scripts. I work from experience, my own, and 30+ years of my clients'.


An anthropologist before I was a lawyer, my mediation and coaching draw from a deep study of the science of human understanding.

I have sat across the table from prosecutors, judges, opposing counsel, and network anchors.


I know how power works. I know how fear works. And I know how to help you move through both.


Whether you are facing divorce, a career crossroads, or a life that looks successful from the outside but feels hollow on the inside, I offer something rare: legal precision, emotional intelligence, and a framework for genuine transformation.

"Susan combines her prosecutorial background with her real-life experience. She is straightforward and compassionate — she speaks directly to the pros and cons."

— Dan Abrams, Chief Legal Analyst NBC News · CEO, Abrams Research

Credentials

Credentials That Speak for Themselves

Academic

B.A., Anthropology

University of Michigan

M.A., Anthropology

University of Michigan

J.D.

Quinnipiac University School of Law

LL.M., Indigenous Peoples Law & Policy

University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law

Certifications

Certified Divorce Coach (DCA)

Certified Divorce Mediator — Center for Mediation & Training

Trained in Domestic Violence — Association for Conflict Resolution

HEROIC Public Speaking Graduate

Bar admissions

Supreme Court of the United States

U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit

U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut

State of Connecticut

State of New York

Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Court

Heroic Speech & Performance Mastery graduation badgeCertified ADR Divorce Coach credentialSusan F. Filan attorney registration with the Connecticut Judicial Branch

Who I work with

You Don't Need to Hit Rock Bottom to Work With Me

My clients are at a crossroads.

Facing a divorce they didn't see coming, or one they've been dreading for years

Men and women navigating the financial, legal, and emotional complexity of a high-stakes divorce

High-achieving professionals who need a strategist, not a sympathizer

Anyone who wants a guide with real stakes experience, not just a certificate

My private coaching practice is based in Westport, CT. Available in person and remotely.

Book Your Strategy Call
Susan Filan speaking with a woman during a coaching sessionSignature of Susan Filan

Susan F. Filan, Heroic Divorce Coach

Former Prosecutor | Trial Lawyer

M.A., J.D., LL.M.

Triple-credentialed

30+

Years Inside the Legal System as a prosecutor, Trial Lawyer, & MSNBC Analyst

Certified Divorce Coach

Certified Divorce Mediator

Three Steps to Clarity

Book a discovery call

A confidential, no-pressure conversation to understand where you are and where you want to go.

Define your roadmap

Together, you'll identify the real challenges, not just the symptoms, and build a realistic, actionable plan.

Move forward with confidence

With me as your guide, you'll make decisions from a place of clarity, not fear.

Book Your Strategy Call

Ready to Think Clearly When Everything Is on the Line?

You have survived hard things. Now it is time to build what comes next with someone who has been in the arena, knows what the stakes feel like, and has made it through to the other side.

Book Your Strategy Call

Private conversation · That changes everything

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FAQ

What is your professional background?

I am a former Connecticut state prosecutor, trial lawyer of 30+ years, and MSNBC Senior Legal Analyst. I hold an M.A. in Anthropology, a J.D. from Quinnipiac University School of Law, and an LL.M. in Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, where I also taught as a Professor of Practice. I am a Certified Divorce Coach, Certified Divorce Mediator, and Recovery Coach Professional.

Have you been through a divorce yourself?

Yes. I went through a high-conflict divorce. I know what it feels like to lie awake at 3am wondering if I made a terrible mistake. I know the pull toward decisions that feel right in the moment but cost you later. That experience is not incidental to my work. It is central to it and why clients trust me. Today I am happily remarried, and I know that the decisions you make in your divorce determine the life you build on the other side.

Are you still a practicing attorney?

I am admitted to practice in Connecticut and New York. My current work is focused on divorce coaching, keynote speaking, and writing, not courtroom representation.

What is your approach to coaching, is it therapy?

No. My work is strategic, not therapeutic. It is built on legal precision, deep understanding of human behavior, and 30+ years of watching how people make decisions under pressure. Therapy looks backward to understand why. My coaching looks forward to decide what's next.

Who are some of your past clients and what do they say?

My past clients include executives, attorneys, physicians, and creatives navigating complex, high-conflict divorces, custody battles, and major life transitions that required clear thinking when clarity was hardest to find. They understood that the right guidance at the right moment is worth the investment. Dan Abrams, Chief Legal Analyst at NBC News, has described me as straightforward and compassionate, someone who uniquely combines prosecutorial experience with real-life empathy.

How does your background in anthropology shape your coaching?

Anthropology is the science of human understanding, how people think, decide, and behave. Before I was a lawyer, I studied human behavior. That lens shapes how I read clients, opposing parties, and legal situations. It is what makes my analysis different from a standard legal mind.