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[Logo]                                                               EXHIBIT 5.1
Crawford & Company




April 1, 1997



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
450,000 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
Non-Employee Director 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
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Judd F. Osten
Senior Vice President - General Counsel

5620 Glenridge Drive, N.E., P. O. Box 5047, Atlanta, GA 30302 (404) 256-0830,
FAX: (404) 847-4066





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