Susan Burke is a homebody—except when the solo practitioner is on the road handling bombshell plaintiffs cases, often involving the federal government. She's been a top attorney-advocate against sexual assault in the military, and she represented former detainees of Abu Ghraib prison. She also advocated for the victims and families affected by the Blackwater Baghdad shootings. Right now, she's serving as lead counsel for plaintiffs in multidistrict litigation accusing defense contractors of exposing service members to toxic fumes from burn pits in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In her spare time, she has appeared on the NBC “Today” show, “PBS NewsHour,” “Real Time with Bill Maher,” “CBS Evening News” and CNN to name a few.

Burke, 55, spends about a third of her time working from her home in Baltimore, where she lives with her husband Jamison Koehler (also a lawyer) and their dog Charlie, a Westie. Their three children are grown and out of the house.