OUR ATTORNEYS
Craig W. Church
Craig grew up in Palatine, Illinois and attended the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, graduating with honors in Business. He then obtained his law degree from IIT/Chicago-Kent College of Law. For the first twelve years of his legal career, he worked for major Chicago insurance defense firms as an associate and partner. His insurance defense experience working for large firms provided him with good training from excellent mentors. Craig was fortunate as a defense attorney to develop technical skills and substantive knowledge across a broad range of personal injury cases, including medical malpractice and professional negligence, construction/job site injuries, premises liability, trucking and motor vehicle accidents.
In 2002, he went to work for a ten-attorney plaintiff's personal injury firm in Chicago, seeking a new professional challenge. He wanted to take the technical skills and practical knowledge he learned, and apply them towards making an impact in people's lives. In the process, Craig found satisfaction helping injured people on a personal level. He took many difficult cases and prepared them to secure significant compensation for his clients. He stayed at the same Chicago PI firm, eventually becoming a partner. He travelled extensively, handling cases in 14 different states involving a wide array of personal injury issues. Many of the cases he successfully litigated concerned significant damages. Craig gained a lot of experience with severe injuries, including amputations, brain injuries, wrongful death, permanent neurological conditions, pain syndromes, failed surgeries, chronic pain management, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
In 2018, along with Alan Fisher, he opened a new law firm, Church & Fisher, LLC. Because of his background as an insurance defense attorney, he knows how insurance companies and insurance defense attorneys evaluate cases, and can anticipate what defenses and strategies they will use to defeat claims. Craig’s experience litigating significant plaintiff personal injury cases in different jurisdictions against some very capable defense attorneys over 17 years, gives him a solid base of experience to deal with virtually any situation that his client is going to confront in litigation.
Craig’s philosophy is to keep his clients informed and educated. He believes that the best results are obtained when everyone has a full understanding of what is going on in the lawsuit, knows what to expect, and is on the same page. He knows he can do a better job of representing his clients if he gets to know the client, the client's family, and how the client's injury affects the family on a day-to-day basis.
Craig is a Certified Mediator after completing the Center for Conflict Resolution’s 40-Hour Performance-Based Mediation Skills Training in May 2021. He serves as a Mediator for the Kane County Court Eviction Mediation Program to help tenants and landlords.
When he is not working, Craig loves spending time with his wife, Katherine, and his daughters, Anne and Sarah. He also enjoys golfing and reading a good historical novel.
Alan J. Fisher
Alan grew up in Ft. Madison, Iowa, a small community in southeast Iowa. He attended the University of Notre Dame where he earned an undergraduate degree and a Master’s in Business Administration degree. Alan then received his Juris Doctorate from Cleveland State University, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. Upon graduation from law school, he began his professional career with a transcontinental railroad. He was involved in negotiating labor contracts and handling labor arbitration matters. After four years working in the rail industry, he worked as a labor attorney representing management in all areas of labor-management relations.
Alan’s professional career expanded to the general practice of law and a continued focus on labor matters. He was endorsed by both labor and management as a federal arbitrator. He was accepted on the arbitrators panel for the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; the National Mediation Board; and the American Arbitration Association. He presided over 800 cases in both rail and private industries. As an arbitrator, he was invited to participate in various labor conferences to discuss arbitration and dispute resolution matters. Alan traveled throughout the United States to hear cases. He knew his role was to be fair and impartial, and issue decisions based on the facts of each case. He saw how his arbitration decisions restored employment and career opportunities for hard-working people.
Rail union leaders encouraged Alan to begin a new career path as a personal injury attorney representing the injured railroaders under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act. In 1996, Alan joined a Chicago personal injury law firm that focused its practice in this area. He was instrumental in developing a national law practice. He left that group in 2018, and along with Craig W. Church, opened Church & Fisher, LLC in October 2018.
As a personal injury attorney, Alan focused his practice throughout the years to help clients and their families. He developed a national contact network of litigation expert witnesses, medical professionals and information resources to support those who needed help. Capable…qualified…credible professionals who now are available to work with Church & Fisher, LLC to obtain financial compensation for those who have been injured.
Alan and his wife, Suzanne, have lived in St. Charles, IL since 1996. Suzanne works for a boutique financial planning group in St. Charles. They are parents of two sons, Charles and George, who were active in local high school sports. Alan and his sons are Eagle Scouts. Alan enjoys outdoor activities including golf and duck hunting.