Sj Chapman

SJ joined Bielski Law Office as a clerk in 2012, after earning her law degree at Northwestern. She began as an associate attorney in September 2013, and works with clients handling probate estates, working on residential real estate closings, drafting estate plans, and advising small businesses and non-profits in legal matters.

Prior to law school, SJ was a paralegal at Hughes Hubbard and Reed, where she created innovative tools to dramatically cut litigation costs and time on multi-million dollar cases. SJ then worked on contract and tax matters as executive assistant in the general counsel department of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. During law school, SJ was a summer associate at Kaye Scholer, where she worked on tax, licensing and antitrust issues, as well as various litigation matters that included Bernie Madoff's case. After law school, SJ externed for Hon. Judge Barnes in Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of Illinois.

SJ is passionate about volunteer work, reproductive justice and adoption. In college, she won the President's Award for Public Service. After college, she volunteered as a Guardian ad Litem, 3rd grade tutor, and soup kitchen server. She graduated from Northwestern Law with a Distinction in Public Service because of her extensive volunteer work. She is a resident blogger with Law Students for Reproductive Justice, and has her own blog dedicated to cutting-edge adoption issues as well. She has volunteered at orphanages in Kenya, Fiji and the Dominican Republic.