EDUCATION
1989 Juris Doctorate, John Marshall Law School, Chicago, Illinois
1984 B.A., Political Science, De Paul University, Chicago, Illinois
SPECIALIZED TRAINING IN DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND NEGOTIATION
2019 Advanced Interdisciplinary Collaborative Law Skills Training (various topics) – 16 hours – International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, Chicago, Illinois
2018 Advanced Interdisciplinary Collaborative Skills Training (various topics) – 8 hours – International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, Seattle, Washington
2018 Insight Mediation Training (2 days), Prince Edward Island, Canada.
2017 Advanced Interdisciplinary Collaborative Law Skills Training (various topics) – 16 hours – International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2016 Advanced Interdisciplinary Collaborative Law Skills Training (various topics) – 16 hours – International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, Las Vegas, Nevada.
2015 40-hour Basic Mediation Training, Mosten Mediation Training, Forrest Mosten, Esq., Los Angeles, California. (Teacher’s Assistant)
2014 Advanced Interdisciplinary Collaborative Law Skills Training (various topics) – 12 hours – International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, Vancouver, Canada
2014 Strength Development Inventory Course – 6 hours, Susan Gamache, LCSW
2013 Advanced Interdisciplinary Collaborative Law Skills Training (various topics) – 12 hours – International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, San Antonio, Texas
2012 Advanced Interdisciplinary Collaborative Law Skills Training (various topics) – 12 hours – International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, Chicago, Illinois
2011 “Through the Eyes of the Team: Laying a Foundation for Success” – 6 hours, Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois and Robert D. Bordett, CFP, CDFA.
2011 “Rewire Your Brain to Speak Your Mind: Neuroscience Insights for Conflict Management” – 6 hours, Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois and Anastasia Pryanlkova, MA, JD.
2011 Advanced Interdisciplinary Collaborative Law Skills Training (various topics) – 12 hours – International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, San Francisco, California
2010 Peacemaker Training – 3 hours, Peacemaker Services, New Ways In Conflict Transformation, Stephan V. Beyer, Ph.D., JD.
2010 Advanced Interdisciplinary Collaborative Law Skills Training (various topics) – 12 hours – International Academy of Collaborative Professionals
2010 “Uncovering the Mysteries of Coaching and Child Specialist Roles: the “What”, the “How” and the “When”- 6 hours, Peggy Thompson, Ph.D.
2009 Advanced Interdisciplinary Collaborative Law Skills Training (various topics) – 12 hours – International Academy of Collaborative Professionals
2009 “Collaborative Team Building: The Art of Giving and Receiving” – 6 hours, Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois and Brigitte Bell, Esq. and Margaret Powers, LCSW
2009 “Refining the Collaborative Process Through Skill Building: Needs and Interests and Framing Issues” – 6 hours, Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois and Zena Zumeta, Esq.
2008 Advanced Interdisciplinary Collaborative Law Skills Training (various topics) – 12 hours – International Academy of Collaborative Professionals
2008 “Dealing with High Conflict Couples” - 6 hours, Bill Eddy, LCSW, Esq.
2008 Advanced Collaborative Law Skills Trainings, 8 hours - European Conference, Cork, Ireland
2007 Advanced Interdisciplinary Collaborative Law Skills Training (various topics) – 12 hours – International Academy of Collaborative Professionals
2007 “Deepening Our Understanding, Expanding Our Purpose, Transforming Our Goals” – 6 hours, Collaborative Legal Practice Institute (Pauline Tesler, Esq.)
2007 Basic Interdisciplinary Collaborative Law Training – 12 hours, Collaborative Law Training Associates, Inc. (Teacher’s Assistant)
2007 "Taking the War Out Our Words” - 6 hours, The Institute for Powerful Non-Defensive Communication (Sharon Ellison)
2006 Advanced Interdisciplinary Collaborative Law Skills Training (various topics) – 12 hours – International Academy of Collaborative Professionals
2005 Advanced Interdisciplinary Collaborative Law Skills Training (communication skills) – 6 hours, Silicone Valley Collaborative Law Training Group
2005 Multi-Disciplinary Collaborative Family Law Training – 12 hours, Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois
2004 Advanced Interdisciplinary Collaborative Law Training (various topics) -12 hours, International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, Boston Massachusetts
2004 Basic Interdisciplinary Collaborative Law Training – 12 hours, Collaborative Law Training Associates, Inc. (Teacher’s Assistant)
2003 Basic Interdisciplinary Collaborative Law Training – 12 hours, Collaborative Law Training Associates, Inc.
2002 Introductory Collaborative Family Law Training - 12 hours, Chip Rose, Esq.
1994 Train-the-Trainer Mediation Training, Center for Conflict Resolution, Chicago, Illinois
1993 40-hour Mediation Training, Center for Conflict Resolution, Chicago, Illinois
PROFESSIONAL LICENSE
1990 – Present Attorney, licensed in Illinois, License # 6203325
2005 – Present Attorney, admitted to practice before United States Supreme Court
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2004 – Present Owner - Law Crawford, P.C. Private Law Practice, Chicago, Illinois
- Family Law Mediator
- Collaborative Law Professional
- Guardian Ad Litem in Probate Matters
- Family Law/Divorce Litigator
1996-2004 Partner – Feingold & Crawford, Private Law Practice, Chicago, Illinois
- Family Law and General Law Litigator
- Real Estate Lawyer
- Collaborative Law Professional
- Mediator
1993-1996 Owner – Law Offices of Sandra Crawford, Private Law Practice, Chicago, Illinois
- Family and General Law Litigator
- Mediator
- Real Estate Lawyer
1990-1993 Associate – Loftus & Loftus, Private Law Practice, Niles, Illinois
- General Law Litigator
- Family Law Litigator
PREVIOUS PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
1987-1990 Litigation Paralegal, William, Brinks, Hofer, Gilson & Lione, Chicago, Illinois – Trademark & Patent Litigation.
1985-1987 Litigation Paralegal, Wildman & Harrold, Chicago, Illinois – General Litigation
1979 – 1984 Law Library Assistant, Much, Shelist, Freed, Denenberg, Ament & Eiger, Chicago, Illinois. Legal Researcher
TEACHING/TRAINER EXPERIENCE
2018 – Present Faculty, 40-hour Divorce Mediation Trainings at Northwestern University School of Professional Studies, Chicago, Illinois (presented 4 times per year)
2008 - 2017 Coach for 40-hour Divorce Mediation Trainings at Northwestern University School of Professional Studies, Chicago, Illinois (presented 4 times per year)
2010 - Present Trainers for the Advancement of Collaborative, Inc., Chicago, Illinois. Founder and trainer – developed and presented 12 hours Introductory Interdisciplinary Collaborative Law; Champaign, Rockford and St. Charles, Illinois.
2016-2017 Part-Time Faculty, North Central College, Naperville, Illinois. Teaching Conflict Resolution and Mediation.
2014 Adjunct Professor, Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Chicago, Illinois. Forensic Department’s semester long Introduction to Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution
PUBLICATIONS
ARTICLES Collaborative Process – Some Essentials of this ADR Model, Now Formally Recognized Under Illinois Law by Sandra Crawford, Southern Illinois University Law Journal, Vol 46, Summer 2019, pages 793-810
Collaborative Law, a Brief Overview by Sandra Crawford, Illinois Bar Journal, Vol 105, Number 9, pages 28-31, September 2017. https://www.isba.org/ibj/2017/09/collaborativelawbriefoverview
A Tale of Two Communities: Bringing Pro Bono Collaborative Law to Illinois National Guard Veterans by Sandra Crawford. Illinois State Bar Association's (ISBA) Women and the Law Newsletter, November 2015. The Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois and the Health & Disability Advocates of Warrior to Warrior have rolled out a pro bono program to bring the Collaborative Practice model of divorce dispute resolution to Illinois Army National Guard Veterans and their families.
Collaborative Law by Sandra Crawford. Attorney at Law Magazine, Chicago Edition, Vol. 2, No. 1, page 26, January, 2015. http://digitaleditions.walsworthprintgroup.com/publication/?i=243800#{%22issue_id%22:243800,%22page%22:26}
Mediation, meditation—Let’s pause for more peaceful outcomes by Sandra Crawford. ISBA's Women and the Law Newsletter, February 2015. Learning how to meditate can help legal professionals (mediators, attorneys, judges) become more comfortable with silence (“the pause”) and not have to continually race against each other to be the first and last to speak.
Divorce Corp. movie underscores family court woes, collaborative law offers solution by Sandra Crawford. ISBA's Alternative Dispute Resolution Newsletter, March 2014. Although unexplored in the film, for more than 20 years now the practice of collaborative law has offered a highly desirable alternative for couples seeking a “kinder, gentler” divorce.
Conscious Divorce: The Conscious Lawyer and Collaborative Practice by Sandra Crawford. ISBA Family Law Newsletter, October 2013. It often goes without saying that family lawyers deal with significant trauma and distress on a daily basis. Becoming and remaining conscious of the impact of the stress on one’s own life is critical.
Managing Expectations—Ours (The lawyers) and Theirs (The clients) by Sandra Crawford. ISBA Women and the Law News Letter, September 2011. The book, The New Lawyer, How Settlement is Transforming the Practice of Law, can serve as a starting place for any lawyer wishing to examine where she fits into the conflict resolution continuum.
What Every Lawyer Should Know About Collaborative Law (a.k.a., Collaborative Practice) by Sandra Crawford. ISBA Alternative Dispute Resolution Newsletter, June 2011. Three things every lawyer should also know about Collaborative Law: (1) there is a favorable American Bar Association Formal Ethics Opinion (Opinion No. 07-447) on the topic; (2) since October, 2010 there has been a Uniform Collaborative Law Act adopted in several states; and, (3) there is an international organization, the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, which has also promulgated Ethical Standards for Collaborative Practitioners.
Second-Hand-Shock™—Day to day the price we pay by Sandra Crawford. ISBA Women and the Law Newsletter, March 2009 “Second-Hand-Shock" is the cumulative impact of the distress that clients’ trauma content stories have on the professionals helping them.
Lawyers as Peacemakers—An opportunity to learn and explore by Sandra Crawford. ISBA Women and the Law Newsletter, March 2008. Are you a warrior? Are you a peacemaker? Or, are you something other? Through answering these threshold questions we may be able to open broader dialogues which will lead us to answering the ultimate question of “what’s the better public image for our profession?”
Negotiation and Emotions, Not mutually exclusive concepts by Sandra Crawford. ISBA Women and the Law Newsletter, October 2006. Negotiation is part of the fabric of your daily lives and the key function of much of work as attorneys, as mothers, as spouses, as committee members, etc.
Lawyer, Know Thyself—Let’s look together behind the facade of a profession in the law for women by Sandra Crawford. ISBA Women and the Law, June 2006.
VIDEOS
Pre-divorce planning (June 2011) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhZZ1EptuDs
See Sandra Crawford and a team of experts give tips on how to plan when considering divorce
Alternatives to Court (June 2011) at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YEVqjgOoB8
See Sandra Crawford and a team of experts talk about avoiding the costs and pitfalls of litigation.
Illinois State Bar Association’s Ask a Lawyer (2015). What is Collaborative Law? Is it right for me? at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNzesS_tj78&feature=youtu.be
See Sandra Crawford explain the Collaborative Law (aka Collaborative Practice) model of conflict resolution.
Empowering Through Leadership (2016) - Interview on Collaborative Law at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hkp381TEULc&sns=em
PODCASTS
Getting Split Ready Podcast (May 2019)
Collaborative Resolution Project (June 2019)
EXPERT TESTIMONY
Anna F Weaver vs. Brigitte Schmidt Bell and Brigitte Schmidt Bell, P.C., Cook County Case Number 2013 L 0347. Defendant’s named opinion expert on the topic of Collaborative Law.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
2002-Present Fellow, Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois
2002-Present Member, International Academy of Collaborative Professionals
2004-2019 Member, Illinois State Bar Association Judicial Evaluation Committee for Cook County
2005-2013 Member, Illinois State Bar Association Standing Committee on Women and the Law
2005-2012 Director, Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois
2009 -2010 President, Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois
2009-2014 Member, Illinois State Bar Association Assembly (Governing Body)
2010-2011 Chair, Illinois State Bar Association Standing Committee on Women and the Law
2012-2018 Mentor, Illinois State Bar Mentoring Program
2013-2016 Member, Trainer Development Network Committee, International Academy of Collaborative Professionals
2013-Present Chair (2017-2018) and Member, Illinois State Bar Association’s Delivery of Legal Services Committee
2014-2019 Member, John Marshall Law School Alumni Board
2014-Present Director, Illinois Bar Foundation
2014-Present Chair (2018-2019) and Member, Illinois State Bar Association’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Section Council
2014-2016 Volunteer Attorney, Chicago Volunteer Legal Services
2018-Present Member, Advisory Board of the Schiller, DuCanto, Fleck Family Law Center, DePaul University
2018-2019 Chair of the Fellows Program, Illinois Bar Foundation
2019-Present Third Vice President, Illinois Bar Foundation
ACADEMIC/EDUCATIONAL PRESENTATIONS
2019 DePaul University, 2019 Family Law Symposium, “The Evolving American Family – Implication of Not Marrying”
2019 John Marshall Law School, Chicago, “Collaborative Law Basics”
2018 Presentation to the Collaborative Law Institute, Park Ridge Practice Group, “Secondhand Shock, Day to Day the Practice We Pay Talking Circle.”
2018 DePaul University, School of Law, 2L and 3L Lecture, “Collaborative Law Basics”
2018 John Marshall Law School, Chicago, “Collaborative Law Basics”
2017 Presentation to the Collaborative Law Institute, Loop Practice Group, “Active Listing Skills for Collaborative Professional”
2016 Illinois State Bar Associations, “Limited Scope Representation: When Less is More” (Panelist)
2016 John Marshall Law School, Chicago, “Collaborative Law: The Nuts and Bolts”
2016 DePaul University, Schiller Ducanto Family Law Center - “Collaborative Law: The Nuts and Bolts”
2015 JTB-APO Advanced Scholars, John Marshall Law School, Chicago. "Introduction to Peace Circles and Alternative Dispute Resolution."
2015 Loyola University School of Law, “Collaborative Law: The Nuts and Bolts”
2014 John Marshall Law School, Chicago, “Collaborative Law: The Nuts and Bolts”
2014 Just the Beginning Foundation Leadership Institute, John Marshall Law School, Chicago. "Introduction to Peace Circles and Alternative Dispute Resolution"
2014 Loyola University School of Law, Chicago. “Collaborative Law: The Nuts and Bolts”
2013 John Marshall Law School, Chicago, “Collaborative Law: The Nuts and Bolts”
2013 Chicago Bar Associations, Chicago. “Overview of Collaborative Law and the Uniform Collaborative Law Act”
2012 Just the Beginning Foundation and Illinois State Bar Law and Leadership Institute, John Marshall Law School, Chicago. "Introduction to Peace Circles and Alternative Dispute Resolution."
2012 Loyola University School of Law, Chicago, “Collaborative Law: The Nuts and Bolts”.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIPS
Association of Family and Conciliation Courts
Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois
Illinois State Bar Association
Illinois Bar Foundation
International Academy of Collaborative Professionals
IACP Member:
