Suzanne grew up in Lancaster, South Carolina and attended Lancaster High School.  She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina.  She received her law degree from Campbell University Law School, where she was a finalist in the Moot Court Trial Competition and was actively involved in the Student Bar Association and Women in Law.  She has clerked with the Honorable Monica Bousman and Attorney Erin Graber of Wake County as well as with The Center for Children’s Defense in Charlotte.  Suzanne was an associate attorney practicing family law at The Mitchell Law Group in Fayetteville upon graduating from law school.  She then joined Margit M. Hicks, PA in 2010 and practiced along side Margit Hicks until 2023.  She then partnered with her husband, Chandan Shankar, at the Shankar Law Firm.  Her husband practices criminal, traffic and personal injury law.

She is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association- Family Law Section- Cumberland County Bar Association, where she has served as Law Day chairperson and the 12th Judicial District Bar Association.  She is also on the board of directors for BarCARES through the NC Bar Association. 

She is an advisory board member of the Vision Resource Center, a  former development and marketing committee member for the Better Health Foundation, a former volunteer with the Cumberland County Teen Court Program, a former coach for the High School Mock Trial competition, a former board director for the Twelth Judicial District and assists the Center for Economic Empowerment and Development (CEED) by hosting Family Law Clinics.