Rushing was born Allison Blair Jones in Hendersonville, North Carolina in 1982. She received a B.A. summa cum laude from Wake Forest University in 2002 and a J.D. magna cum laude from the Duke University School of Law in 2007. As a law student, Rushing worked as a summer intern at the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) (now Alliance Defending Freedom). ADF has drawn controversy for its advocacy involving “religious freedom” and has been labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. After graduating, Rushing clerked for then-Judge Neil Gorsuch on the Tenth Circuit, Judge David Sentelle on the D.C. Circuit, and for Justice Clarence Thomas on the U.S. Supreme Court. After her clerkships, Rushing joined the D.C. office of Williams & Connolly as an Associate. In 2016, Rushing became a Partner at the firm. Rushing has been a member of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies since 2012. Rushing also served as a legal advisor in the Mitt Romney Presidential Campaign.