After relocating, she became a certified mediator for family law matters through Northwestern University's Professional Development Divorce Mediation Training.
With a reputation for compassionate legal counsel, Chrissie moved to Shaw Sanders P.C. in St. Charles, Illinois, where she gained further experience in the heat of her clients' family law battles. Often she found herself desirous of a more peaceful path forward for her clients and their children, one that was not found in courtroom hearings or across the table from her in depositions with ruthless and combative adversaries. After consistently advocating and negotiating on behalf her clients throughout their divorce and parentage matters, Chrissie realized her proudest moments were those in which thorough, impartial, mindful, and effective collaboration between parties yielded better outcomes for the children involved.
Ultimately, Chrissie realized where her heart was leading her all along. From humble beginnings as a Midwestern millennial middle child of the Crossroads of America to the lighthearted and slightly irreverent Chicagoan/Suburban "mamattorney" often literally stuck in the middle of her boys' arguing and roughhousing, she has always been a peacemaker and creative problem solver at heart.
Now as a divorced mother herself, looking back on the process of negotiating the terms of her own settlement, she sees power in communication and fair negotiations. Most of all, she knows she operated with her children's best interests in mind as she and her ex-husband, also an attorney, represented themselves in the divorce, saving time and money, which is always better spent on the kids. She's happy to share that her experience of co-parenting, while certainly not perfect, has been mostly positive, collaborative, and respectful. Most of all, her kids are happy, healthy, and loved by both parents infinitely.
Chrissie is a Co-Chair of the New Lawyers Committee of the Kane County Bar Association, a member and former conference volunteer for the National Association of Women Judges, and an active member of Kiwanis International of St. Charles.