About Michael C.
Michael C. Craven combines formal training in law and taxation with decades of courtroom and mediation experience. He holds a J.D. from The UIC John Marshall Law School (1984) and completed an LL.M. there in 1989. His undergraduate degree is a B.S. in Business and Accounting from Northern Illinois University (1979). Those credentials shaped the early contours of a career that moves between matrimonial disputes and tax questions.
Craven’s practice path is measured and steady. He became a partner at Craven & Craven in 1988. By 1994 records show roles as both a partner at Beerman Pritikin Mirabelli Swerdlove LLP and the owner of Michael C. Craven, Esq. The timeline reflects a practitioner comfortable in firm settings and in maintaining a solo practice. In 2015 he joined Harrison & Held, LLP as a partner, where he continues his work.
His courtroom admissions include Illinois and the U.S. Tax Court. He also holds certification as a mediator in the Circuit Court of Cook County’s Domestic Relations Division. That credential sits alongside training in Collaborative Law, Basic Interdisciplinary Collaborative Training, which informs his alternative dispute work. The combination of tax study and family law practice gives him a cross-disciplinary perspective that clients encounter in complex financial and marital matters.
Craven has taken on a steady stream of organizational roles over the years. He has been active in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in a variety of committee and board positions. Recent listings show him as co-chair of the AAML’s Social Media/Marketing/Website group as of 2023 and a member of the Finance/Tax Committee beginning in 2021. He also served as Judicial Relations Co-Chair for the AAML from 2019 to 2021 and held the Chair of the Budget/Finance Committee from 2013 to 2018. Other long-running involvements include membership on the Board of Managers and several AAML committees dating back to 2013.
Community work is part of his profile. He has volunteered with The Lilac Tree in multiple capacities, including board membership and treasurer roles from 2015 to 2021 and ongoing volunteer counsel since 2020. He has also participated in JUF/JCLS Community Legal Services and served on local bar association boards and committees, including roles in the North Suburban Bar Association and the Illinois State Bar Association’s Family Law Section Council.
Colleagues describe him as an experienced lawyer who moves between litigation, mediation, and advisory work in family law and related tax matters. He currently practices family and matrimonial law at Harrison & Held, LLP.
