Kentland Community Supporter: Codey Spear

I am originally from Crawfordsville, Indiana. During my high school years, I participated in band and was a four-sport athlete– I did track, football, swimming, and wrestling. For my undergraduate degree, I went to Indiana State, majoring in music business administration. I played football for the Sycamores during my first year before turning my focus to my education and exploring music.

After graduating, I started working at a music store before starting work in a factory. At this point, a friend at the time advised me to try something new and explained that a relative was going to law school. This inspired me to take the LSAT and apply for law school myself. I really started to enjoy the journey and saw this as an opportunity for me to give back and help people. After law school, I worked for two separate firms, for a total of five and a half years. It was around the beginning of this year that I felt it was time to open my own office. My wife and I met while I was in law school, and she’s been my biggest supporter. She was the biggest push for me to go and open up my own law firm, where she works with me full-time as my office manager/paralegal.

When it became time for me to determine where I was going to open my firm, I was looking at two places: Kentland and Crawfordsville. When I first got licensed, I was signed up as a public defender in Kentland and got a very warm welcome here. I made a lot of connections and met a lot of wonderful people. In the beginning of my career as an attorney, Kentland was where I took on some of my biggest cases and where I started to make a name for myself; so it quickly became clear that Kentland was the right place for me to hang up my shingle. The attorneys and court staff that I work with are all very kind and inclusive. Everyone offered their assistance and helped me get set up. The community here further instills that I made the right decision to come to Kentland, not just to work, but to live.

My biggest day-to-day responsibility is managing clients’ needs. Some of the best advice I received when I started out was to communicate with clients in a timely manner. Most of my communication with clients involves answering their questions and providing advice that is needed for their case. From there, I usher my clients through the legal process, whether that is filing necessary pleadings with the court or reviewing what has been filed into their case. I might also provide my wife with tasks that she can do to assist me throughout the day. The remainder of the day, as far as the practice is concerned, is prepping and attending to court appearances.

I’ve experienced Kentland as being a small town with a lot of hospitality. Everyone’s nice, welcoming, and willing to help one another, which was one of the big things that drew me to the community. My wife and I really love going to Cast Park– that’s our peaceful place. We’ll relax in the sun and read on the hill. I enjoy going to the pond there to fish, as well. We also love going to the Old Colonial Inn and the Downtown Lounge. They have been our go-to spots for celebrations.