Linda R. Crane, J.D./M.B.A.

Biography

Linda R. Crane is the Founder and Principal Attorney of Crane Law Group, P.C. a Chicago-based law firm that specializes in Business Law Estate Planning, Asset Management and Protection, Election Law, Elder Law, Probate and Trust Administration and Corporate Counsel. In addition to working as a partner at more than one law office, Linda also served as the Vice-President of Bear, Stearns & Company. Her dual experience in law and financial services gives her the experience and resources to be able to not only serve as legal counsel, but also as a strategic business advocate.

Professional Experience

Linda’s thorough understanding of the legal process comes from a career spent not only practicing law, but teaching it as well. She is a former Associate Dean of Faculty Development at The John Marshall Law School, responsible for understanding the challenges and needs of hundreds of adjunct faculty, mentoring them, and managing institutional resources designated for faculty. Linda was the first minority professor to be granted tenure at The John Marshall Law School and is the only minority woman to have been promoted to the rank of Full Professor of Law in the school’s history. Her main areas of teaching were Property Law, Payment Systems Law, Federal Securities Regulations, Financial Issues in Elder Law Planning, and a course in Agency, Partnerships and Unincorporated Business Entities. She also led a seminar on Race, Gender & Class in the Law. Personally invested in the education of future lawyers, Linda remains a Professor of Law Emerita.

Linda has authored many articles published in law journals, ranging from family law, legal education, commercial law, and civil rights. She’s spoken on panels and other various speaking engagements on civil rights, specifically the topics of economic disparity, mortgage lending discrimination, and affirmative action. She was honored to author the Affirmative Action Briefing Paper (2007) and the Affirmative Action Executive Summary (2008) for then-candidate Barack Obama to debrief him on the nature of affirmative action.

Linda is also one of the few academics to have been published on the topic of Cuban economic reforms instituted in 2012. Linda has taken a strong interest into the new opportunities presented by increased economic relations between Cuba and the United States and is offering her services and networks to consult for any individuals or businesses interested in interacting with the Cuban economy.

Prior to her career in law, Linda served as a Vice-President of the Chicago office of Bear, Stearns & Company. She also worked for Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith as a Financial Consultant and at Navistar (formerly International Harvester Company as a Strategic Issues Analyst in the Corporate Planning Department.

Community and Civic Engagement

In addition to her work at The John Marshall Law School, Linda engages the community in many capacities to support education, fair elections, and hunger initiatives. From an administrative level, she has served as a Trustee for The Chicago State University Foundation, The Midwestern People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference, Inc., The Greater Chicago Food Depository, and the Law School Admissions Council. She is also a former board president of The Cabrini-Green Tutoring Program.

In the realm of fair elections, Linda is a former board president of The Legal Elections in All Precincts Research and Education Fund, Inc., known as Project LEAP. This organization is a private watchdog agency founded nearly forty years ago to combat election-related fraud and provide a responsible dissemination of information to cultivate increased fairness and transparency in elections.

Professional Activities

The John Marshall Law School
July of 1989 – present

Professor of Law
August of 2000 to present

Associate Dean for Faculty Development.
June of 2004 through October 2007

Responsible for providing financial and other resources to sixty+ full-time law faculty and 200+ adjunct faculty to assist them in the areas of teaching, writing and community service, including research and teaching assistance, travel, professional training programs, the Scholars-In-Residence Program, the Braun Memorial Lecture, and the Media Services Department.

Associate Professor of Law (with tenure).
August 1994 to August 2000

Assistant Professor of Law (tenure track).
August 1989 to 1994

Teaching Subjects: Property Law; Payment Systems Law; Federal Securities Regulation; and Race, Gender & Class in the Law.

Faculty Committees: Faculty Strategic Planning Committee, 2010-2013; Faculty Selections and Appointments Committee, 2010-2011; Center Real Estate Transactions Advisory Committee, 2010-11; Foundation Board Advisory Committee, 2010-2011; Chair, New Student Orientation, 2007-2008; Admissions and Financial Aid, 2003-2004; Decanal Search 2002 – 2003; Academic Affairs 2002 – 2003, 2009-2010; Tenure & Promotions 1999-2001; Chair, Faculty Affairs, 1997-98, 1998-99; Selections & Appointments, 1998-19; Curriculum, 1997-99; Tenure, Selections & Appointments, 1991-1996, 2011-2012; Faculty Affairs 1989-1991;

Boyd & Crane, Law Offices
Partner
April 1987 - May 1998 (on leave after August of 1989)
[Real Estate, Probate, Business transactions, Family Law]

Bear, Stearns & Company
Vice-President
January 1987 - April 1989
[Securities sales registered representative]

Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith
Financial Consultant
November 1983 - January 1987
[Securities sales registered representative]

International Harvester Company/Navistar
Strategic Issues Analyst
July 1981 - September 1982
[Corporate Planning Department]

Selected Community Activities

American Bar Association (A.B.A.),
Section on Legal Education; Business Law Section, Federal Securities Law Committee, Market Regulation Subcommittee; Property and Probate Section; Member of reaccreditation site-inspection team for Drake University Law School, fall of 2004.

Association of American Law Schools (A.A.L.S.),
Chair (2001-2002), Committee on Audit and Association Investment Policy; member, Committee on Audit and Association Investment Policy (January 2000 to January 2003). Member: Minority Law Teachers Section; Property Law Section; Commercial Law Section.

Cook County Bar Association (C.C.B.A.),
Chair, Affirmative Action Committee, 1998-2000; Chair, Legal Education Committee, 1997; member, Judiciary Committee.

Chicago Bar Association (C.B.A.),
Vice-Chair of the Hearings Division and member of the J.E.C. Executive Committee, 1998-99, and member of Judicial Evaluation Committee (J.E.C.) Hearings Division, 1991-96, 1998-99;
Co-Chair, Women's Alliance Legal Education Subcommittee and member of the Executive Committee of the Women’s Alliance; Women in the Arts Subcommittee.

Law School Admissions Council (L.S.A.C.),
Trustee, Board of Trustees. June 2006 to June 2009 (slated by Nominating Committee of the Trustee Board for national election to a 3-year term); Board Liaison to the following committees: Audit, Diversity, Investment Policy Oversight. Volunteer since 1990: Co-Chair, Dreamkeepers Conference (October 2003 in Seattle, ‘WA); Services and Programs Committee (1997-1999);Minority Affairs Committee New Initiatives Sub-Committee (1995-1997); Co-chair Minority Faculty Admission and Retention Conference Planning Work Group (2001-present).

Midwestern People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference, Inc.
Chair, Steering Committee “People of Color Speak: Celebrating Our Emerging Voices” the first national meeting of the six regional people of color legal scholarship conferences -- an event where 130+ law professors of color convened at The John Marshall Law School to discuss legal scholarship development; Incorporator (1993) and Secretary/Treasurer,1993-2003; Trustee, 1993 to present.

Legal Elections in All Precincts Educational & Research Fund, Inc. (Project L.E.A.P.),
Board President, June 1996 - December 1998; Vice-President, 1995-96, member since 1993.

The Cabrini-Green Tutoring Program, Inc.,
President of the Board of Directors, 1994 -96, member, 1990-2001.

The Links, Incorporated, North Shore Illinois Chapter,
Member 1994-present; Executive Board, Chair, International Trends & Services Committee, 1994-97;
Co-Chair, Contributions Committee, 1998-2000; Chair, By-Laws Committee, 2003-present.

Chicago State University Foundation
Trustee, Board of Trustees. 2000 to present.
Fundraising Committee (2000), Nominating Committee (2004), Board Development Committee (2005 to present), Gala Committee (2006).

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Mortgage Credit Access Partnership (MCAP) Steering Committee
Member, Steering Committee, 1996-2002; Predatory Lending Committee, 1998-2002.

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Chair, Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Conference, November 2002,

MacCormac Business College
Trustee, Board of Trustees, 1997 - present; Chair, Academic Affairs Committee, 1999-2001; Chair, Faculty Affairs Committee, 2003-present.

Little Company of Mary Hospital Foundation
Member, Board of Directors 1997- 2001.

The Greater Chicagoland Food Depository (GCFD)
Director, Board of Directors, September 2004 - present. Member, Audit Committee, 2005 to present.

Central States Law Schools Association
President, elected during its 17^th Annual Meeting at St. Louis University School of Law. October 9, 1999. Hosted 18^th Annual meeting at The John Marshall Law School in October of 2000 as part of the school’s Centennial Celebration.

Museum of Science and Industry of Chicago
Member, President David Mosena’s Advisory Committee; Co-Chair, African American Outreach Task Force, 2005 to present; Chair, Black Creativity Gala 2006 (raised $600,000.00 for African American programming); Member, Black Creativity Gala Committee, 1993 to present. Black Creativity program is the primary fundraiser for African American programs for the MSI.

Links, Inc. (North Shore Illinois Chapter)
Member, 1993 to 2007; Chair, International Trends and Services 1999, 2000 Hearing Officer, Personnel Board, The Chicago Park District (1995-1998).

The National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) (renamed FINRA)
Neutral Arbitrator, (1997-2005) (certified as a Panel Chair in 1999).

The City of Chicago Board of Elections Commissioners
Hearing Examiner, (2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010). Election day attorney troubleshooter assigned to the office of the Commisioners (1998-present)

Selected Honors

Featured in the Summer 1997 edition of The John Marshall Law School Magazine for commitments to public service and volunteerism.

Honoree in the field of Education, Midwest Women's Center 11th Annual "Tribute to Chicago Women," June 13, 1996.

Keynote Speaker, Northwestern University School of Law Black Law Student Association Alumni Dinner, April 24, 1998

Keynote Speaker, “Building Human Capital,” Partners In Business Community Action Agency Counsel of Lake County, Illinois, May 20, 1998.

Honoree, “Moving in the Right Direction: A Tribute to African-American Legal Educators,” The John Marshall Law School Black Law Student Association, April 24, 1998.

Keynote Speaker, “Race and Race Theory”, Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago, Inc., February 22, 1999.

Keynote Speaker for the Opening Plenary, Twelfth Annual Black Business Conference, “Shaping a New Vision From a Proud History,” J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management of Northwestern University, Saturday, April 24, 1999.

Honoree, York Star Award, Akainyah Gallery, Chicago Illinois, February, 1999.

Honoree, “100 Women Making A Difference,” Today’s Chicago Woman Magazine, July 1999.

Honoree, “Visionary Award”, Second National Meeting of the Six Regional People of Color Legal Scholarship Conferences, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., October 2004.

Honoree, “Norman C. Amaker Award”, Midwestern People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, April 17, 2010.

Honoree,”Special Tribute”, Cook County Bar Association, Chicago, Illinois, June 18, 2010.

Honoree, Special Tribute In Recognition of Contributions The People of Color Legal Scholarship Movement, 3rd National Meeting of the Six Regional People of Color Legal Scholarship Conferences, Newark, New Jersey, September 10, 2010.

Recipient, Faculty Award for Outstanding Service, The John Marshall Law School, Commencement Exercises, January 16, 2011, Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Chicago, Illinois.

Selected Academic & Community Programs

Panelist, “How To Prepare for a Career as a Female Law Professor.", The University of Chicago School of Law, February, 1997.

Guest Speaker, "Learning From Our Past to Make Way For Our Future." , Motorola, Inc. After Parts Market Division, February, 1997.

Presenter, “Protecting the Lended Gentry: Discrimination in the Mortgage Lending Process,” The Third Annual Meeting of The Latin American Association of Law and Economics,

June 16, 1997, Caracas, Venezuela.

Presenter, "Protecting the Lended Gentry: Discrimination in the Mortgage Lending Process," 1996 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Law Schools, January 6, 1996, San Antonio, Texas.

Presenter, "Protecting the Lended Gentry: Discrimination in the Mortgage Lending Process," Seventh Annual Meeting of the Midwestern People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference Inc., March 30, 1996, St. Louis, Missouri.

Responder, "Collective Recognition as a Communitarian Device: Or, Of Course We Want to be Role Models", by Prof. Enrique R. Carrasco (University of Iowa College of Law), Seventh Annual Meeting of the Midwestern People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference Inc., March 30, 1996, St. Louis, Missouri.

Presenter, "Protecting the Lended Gentry: Discrimination in the Mortgage Lending Process," 1996 Mortgage Lending Discrimination and Insurance Redlining National Conference, April 19, 1996, Chicago, Illinois.

Guest Speaker, "Accounting for Continuing Racial Discrimination by Corporations in the Efficient Market--A Review of Recent Research and Suggestions for Corporate Clients," Chicago Bar Association Corporate Law Committee meeting, June 17, 1996, Chicago, Illinois.

Moderator, “Practical Tips on Litigating Mortgage Lending and Insurance Discrimination Cases,” September 12-13, 1997, a national conference sponsored by the JMLS Fair Housing Legal Support Center.

Panelist, National Employment Lawyers Association/Illinois Affirmative Action, January 30, 1998 (Kent Law School).

Panelist, “Symposium on Career Options for Minority Students in the Securities and Commodity Futures Industries,” Northwestern University School of Law, February 19, 1998.

Panelist, “Affirmative Action,” The Social Security Administration, Hearings Division, Chicago Office, February 25, 1998.

Panelist, “Affirmative Action in the Year 2000,” Northwestern University, Kellogg Graduate School of Management, February 26, 1998.

Panelist, “Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling,” Expo For Today’s Black Woman, seminar, March 13, 1998.

General Co-Chairman and panelist, “Women in Legal Education and Affirmative Action Forum,” March 26, 1998. Co-sponsored by the Chicago Bar Association Alliance for Women/ Women in Legal Education Subcommittee and the Cook County Bar Association Continuing Legal Education Committee/ Affirmative Action Subcommittee.

Moderator, Town Hall Meeting, “Moving Forward by Giving Back: Building Wealth Through Business, Community and Politics", Eleventh Annual Black Business Conference, sponsored by the Black Management Association of the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Chicago, Illinois, April 25, 1998.

Panelist, Affirmative Action Symposium, Olive-Harvey College, April 28, 1998 [Sponsored by the Cook County Bar Association Continuing Legal Education Committee Affirmative Action Sub-Committee.

General Chair, National Steering Committee; Chair, Site Committee, “Celebrating Our Emerging Voices: People of Color Speak” The First National Meeting of the Six Regional People of Color Legal Scholarship Conferences, Chicago, Illinois, March 25-27, 1999;

Moderator, “Women Rainmakers” panel discussion, The John Marshall Law School, February 8, 2000.

Panelist, “Affirmative Action and City Contracts”, The Chicago Bar Association Committee on Minorities in the Profession, March 21, 2000.

Panelist, “Women of Color: Breaking the Glass Ceiling”, National Industry Liaison Group, 2000 National Conference, Chicago, Illinois, September 20, 2000.

Expert Witness, Federal Reserve System Hearings on Predatory Lending Practices in the Home Equity Lending Market, Chicago, Illinois, August 16, 2000.

Panelist, “Affirmative Action”, University of Illinois at Chicago, October 24, 2000.

Symposium participant, “Civil Rights: Looking Back, Looking Forward”, Barry University Law School, Orlando, Florida, February 14, 2003.

Panelist, NAACP of Evanston, Current Issues in Civil Rights, November 18, 2003.

Panelist, “The New Civil Rights…”, Sponsored by the Cook County Bar Association, Apostolic Church of God, Chicago, Illinois, February 21, 2004.

Presenter, “Race and the Law”, BLSA 8^th Annual Race and Law Symposium: Segregation in Chicago 50 Years After Brown v. Board of Education, Loyola University Chicago, April 17, 2004.

Presenter, “Civil Rights: Past, Present, and Future, Reflections on Brown v. Board of Education”, sponsored by various student organizations at The John Marshall Law School, April 7, 2004.

Moderator, “E-Voting Conference”, Sponsored by the Center for Privacy and Information Technology, The John Marshall Law School, October 1, 2004.

Panelist, “Law and Education”, Second National Meeting of the Six Regional People of Color Legal Scholarship Conferences, America, Race, and Law at the Crossroads, The George Washington University School of Law, October 8, 2004.

Panelist, “Why and How to Become a Law School Dean”, Second National Meeting of the Six Regional People of Color Legal Scholarship Conferences, America, Race, and Law at the Crossroads, The George Washington University School of Law, October 8, 2004.

Panelist, “Taxing the Taxed”, Second National Meeting of the Six Regional People of Color Legal Scholarship Conferences, America, Race, and Law at the Crossroads, The George Washington University School of Law, October 10, 2004.

Organizer, Chief Justice John Marshall: 250^thBirthdayObservance, The John Marshall Law School, Chicago, Illinois, September 2005 through March 2006.

Chair, Belle R. and Joseph H. Braun Memorial Lecture, Honoring Derek Bell on the occasion of his 75^th Birthday, “Accepting Extinction: Will Christian Doctrine Prove Our Enemy Rather Than Our Salvation?”, The John Marshall Law School. October 13, 2006

Panelist, “Law School Teaching in the 21^st Century”, International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 2^nd International Conference, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, July 3, 2007.

Panelist, “Accepting the Job and Key First Steps: Be Careful What You Wish For!”, Deanship Workshop – Seattle University School of Law, Seattle, Washington, October 2007.

Presenter and Panel Chair, “Lessons From America: How Recent Reforms to the Check Collection Process Have Hurt Consumers and Contributed to the Current Financial Crisis in the United States.” Athens Institute of Education and Research (AITNER) conference on law, July 18, 2008, Athens, Greece.

Panelist, “Meditative, Contemplative Practices in the Practice and Teaching of Law”, Joint Meeting of the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest People of Color Legal Scholarship Conferences, April 2, 2011, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Selected Scholary Works

Forum, Colorizing the Law School Experience, 1991 Wisc. L. Rev. 1427;

Can We Talk? Reflections of Seven Female African-American Law Professors, 6 National Bar Association Magazine 16 (1992);

Family Values and the Supreme Court, 25 Conn. L.Rev. 427 (Winter 1993);

Haitians: Seeking Refuge in the U.S., 7 Georgetown Immigration Law Journal 747 (1994) (with Joyce A. Hughes);

Graduate Law Degree Programs and Interdisciplinary Combined Degree Programs with Law: History and Trends, 33 J. Marshall L. Rev. 48 (Fall 1999);

Symposium: Introduction to the Works-In-Progress Presented During the First National Meeting of the Six Regional People of Color Legal Scholarship Conferences: March 25-27, 1999, 36 California Western Law Review 1, (Fall 1999);

Reflections From The Chair: Honoring The Decade of Scholarship By Law Professors of Color in U.S. Law Schools and The People of Color Legal Scholarship Movements (1989-1999) -- A Quest For Quality, 20 Boston College Third World L. J. 13 (Winter 2000);

Living Your Dream And Do Good Too” (contributing author) “Dear Sisters, Dear Daughters: Words of Wisdom from Multicultural Women Attorneys Who’ve Been There and Done That, edited by Karen Clanton, American Bar Association Press (Spring 2000);

Grading Law School Examinations: Making A Case For Objective Exams to Cure What Ails ‘Objectified’ Exams, 34 New England Law Review 1 (May 2000);

From Gibbons to Lopez: Does the Commerce Clause Remain a Viable Tool for Eliminating the Vestiges of Slavery?, 4 Barry University Law Review 71, Symposium Issue Fall 2004 -- Civil Rights: Looking Back – Looking Forward

Law School Deaning: Accepting the Job and Key First Steps -- Be Careful What You Wish For!, Seattle University School of Law Law Review, Fall 2008.

Checking Out of the Exception: Why Parties Should Be Able to Negotiate Whether Checks Should Be Payable On Demand, Columbia Journal of Race and Law (Volume 3, Issue 1, 2013)

Cuba Revisited: From Revolution to Evolution, Seattle Journal for Social Justice

(Volume 12, Issue 3, 2014)

The Disclosure Policy in the Information Age: A Proposal for Changes to the Approach for Regulating the Securities Industry in the U.S.. (in progress)

Selected Affiliations

Licenses: Illinois Supreme Court; United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Actively involved in numerous fundraising activities for various cultural and non-profit institutions in Chicago, including The Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Science and Industry, The Greater Chicago Food Depository, and The Chicago State University Foundation.

Resides in the Jackson Park Highlands -- a historical district on the South Side of Chicago -- with husband, Judge William Stewart Boyd (Circuit Court of Cook County).