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EXHIBIT 5.1
[LOGO]
Crawford & Company
July 25, 2000
Board of Directors
Crawford & Company
5620 Glenridge Drive, N.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30342
RE: Crawford & Company Form S-8 Registration Statement
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am General Counsel for Crawford & Company, a Georgia corporation (the
"Company"), and have acted as counsel for the Company in connection with the
preparation of a Registration Statement on Form S-8 to be filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Registration Statement") relating to
2,500,000 shares of Class A Common Stock, par value $1.00 per share (the "Class
A Stock"), of the Company to be offered pursuant to the Crawford & Company 1997
Key Employee Stock Option Plan (the "Plan"). In so acting, I have examined and
relied upon such records, documents, certificates and other instruments as in my
judgment are necessary or appropriate to form the basis for the opinion
hereinafter set forth. In all such examinations, I have assumed the genuineness
of signatures on original documents and the conformity to such original
documents of all copies submitted to me as certified, conformed or photographic
copies, and as to certificates of public officials, I assumed the same to have
been properly given and to be accurate.
Based upon the foregoing, I am of the opinion that the Class A Stock,
when issued and sold in accordance with the provisions of the Plan, will be
validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.
I consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the
Registration Statement.
Very truly yours,
/s/ JUDD F. OSTEN
Judd F. Osten
Executive Vice President - General Counsel
5620 Glenridge Drive, N.E., P. O. Box 5047, Atlanta, GA 30302, (404) 256-0830,
FAX: (404) 847-4066
