Carol Sparks Drake - Law Firm Lewis & Kappes, P.C. Attorneys Indianapolis, Indiana

Personal Profile:

Boone County attorney Carol Sparks Drake heads up Lewis & Kappes' Zionsville office. At its office in downtown Indianapolis, Lewis & Kappes prides itself on having experienced attorneys, like Carol, who provide aggressive and innovative services for businesses and individuals in a cost-effective manner. Now, those services are available in Zionsville.

Carol has been practicing law in Boone County for more than 20 years. She has rendered legal services throughout the county-i.e., from Thorntown to Zionsville, Lebanon, Whitestown, Jamestown, Advance, and Fayette-- to businesses, family owned corporations, governmental bodies, municipalities (ten years), the county hospital (sixteen years), medical and other professionals, and non-profit organizations. She serves as counsel for Zionsville's Plan Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals.

Carol has also served individual clients throughout her private practice by providing personal legal services, including estate planning, probate, dissolution, child custody, support, prenuptial agreements, adoption, real estate, zoning, and other services. She is a committed advocate for her clients and believes this client commitment was complemented by joining Lewis & Kappes.

Carol's experience and integrity, coupled with Lewis & Kappes' extensive service offerings, enable big firm services to be rendered at the Zionsville office with small firm efficiency and personal attention. This new office makes it convenient for Boone, Hamilton, Hendricks, Clinton, Montgomery, and Tippecanoe County clients to obtain a broad range of services without traveling to downtown Indianapolis.

The full spectrum of services Lewis & Kappes offers are available at this location, including business and corporate law, civil litigation, class actions, commercial lending, health care (including physicians and other professional health care providers), estate planning, family law, immigration and international law, labor and employment, municipal law (including municipal finance), real estate, land use and zoning, and shareholder disputes. Lewis and Kappes also offers energy and other utility law services, including water and sewer utility and related litigation services.

Carol continues to provide utility and appellate services from this new office. She is a past chair of the Indiana State Bar Association's Appellate Practice Section and a frequent lecturer at appellate seminars. Carol successfully collaborated in briefing a landmark appeal which enabled one of the largest electric loads in Indiana to be served by an electric distribution cooperative, and in another appeal in which she briefed a question of first impression, the Indiana Supreme Court clarified the proper trial procedure in using settlement agreements.

In addition, Carol has drafted briefs for a broad spectrum of personal injury, business, and domestic related cases, including an appeal in which the Indiana Supreme Court in 2006 reaffirmed the requirements necessary to satisfy Indiana's statute of frauds. In 2007, the Indiana Supreme Court addressed a statutory construction issue she briefed on transfer involving the recovery of attorney fees by banks. The writing skills developed in drafting these appellate briefs have enhanced Carol's ability to draft contracts and other documents for construction, real estate, business mergers and acquisitions, and other legal needs.

Carol has been active in professional associations. She is a past president of the Boone County Bar Association and was selected by the Boone County Legal Personnel as "Boss of the Year." She is a member of the Boone County Bar Association, Indiana State Bar Association, Indianapolis Bar Association, and Indiana Municipal Lawyers Association. She was a charter member of the Electric Cooperative Bar Association

Carol is also personally active in the community. She is Vice President of the Zionsville Chamber of Commerce and serves on the Chamber's Executive Committee. Earlier, Carol served two terms as president of the Boone County Chamber of Commerce and as a member of its board of directors. She and her husband, Tom, are the only husband and wife who have both served at the helm of Boone County's Chamber of Commerce. She is a founding director of the Community Foundation of Boone County and as an officer on its board, served on the Foundation's Executive Committee and on the Foundation's board of directors for ten years. She and Tom continue to be Foundation members and attend its annual breakfast for agricultural community members.

They are also long-time members of Witham Memorial Hospital's Foundation and support Boone County 4-H through its Booster Club program. Carol has served for many years on the Boone County 4-H Council and the Boone County 4-H Community Council, the latter of which plans the annual 4-H spring barbeque while the 4-H Council oversees 4-H related matters year round. Carol also supports and is honored to provide legal services for Arc Rehab Services, which serves those in the community with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities. Prior to its closing in 2006, she also provided services on behalf of Rainbow Valley Christian Children's Home.

Boone County has been Carol's home since moving to rural Zionsville in 1985. Carol was first introduced to Zionsville in 1978, not because of the practice of law, but in response to an advertisement for riding lessons at a local stable. Those riding lessons fostered a genuine love of riding which prompted Carol to purchase her first horse. The Half Arabian gelding born several years later to this mare has competed successfully in regional and national shows, having earned a national Top Ten in dressage at the United States Arabian and Half Arabian Nationals. Carol continues to be an enthusiastic equestrian, supporting horse related activities through local and statewide organizations, including Red Hats and Purple Chaps. Having the opportunity to locally take in the Traders Point Charity Hunt Show is an annual highlight.

Carol and her husband live on a 46 acre farm west of Zionsville in the heart of the new Anson development. They share their farm with their horse and golden retriever and as life members of the I.U. Alumni Club, have been known to display the I.U. emblem on their barn silo. They have been active members of Traders Point Christian Church for many years.

Carol plays string bass regularly with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Indianapolis, and has played with the Hendricks Symphony Orchestra and the Zionsville Community Orchestra at its summer concerts and the Zionsville Fall Festival. In addition, Carol has played bass in the orchestra for the annual ZBop program.

Carol has served on the board of directors of the American Heart Association, Marion County Division, and she is a past Girl Scout troop leader. She and her husband are members of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and often enjoy historic inns or touring historic landmarks.

Carol is pleased to offer expanded legal services at Lewis & Kappes' Zionsville location and to provide these services to Boone County clients as well as those in nearby communities such as Carmel, Brownsburg, Avon, Danville, Lizton, Crawfordsville, Frankfort, and Lafayette.

Practice Areas

Carol provides real estate and land use related services to individuals, businesses, and governmental bodies.

Carol has extensive appellate and utility law experience and has authored appellate briefs on behalf of national, publicly traded companies and Indiana utilities in complex business and territorial disputes, as well as upon personal matters such as adoption, custody, and other family law issues. She has briefed appeals upon matters of first impression impacting Indiana litigants. Because of her long-time practice in Boone County, Carol also has substantial experience providing healthcare and other business and professional legal services, particularly contract negotiation and drafting for real estate, construction, and general business needs. In addition, having a county seat practice enabled her to work with local municipal and corporate clients, along with individuals desiring estate planning, probate, adoption, dissolution, child support, and other personal legal services.

Carol has functioned as general counsel to utilities, municipalities, and other clients, including the county hospital, while continuing to meet individual client needs.

Education

Indiana University, B.A., 1975; Indiana University, J.D., cum laude, 1978

Bar Admissions

Indiana, 1978; U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit; U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, 1978; U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana

Publications and Presentations

Faculty, Appelate Skills Institute, ICLEF, 2009
Lecturer, Appellate Practice Seminar, ICLEF, 2007
Faculty, Appellate Skills Institute, ICLEF, 2006
Co-Chair, The Art of Appellate Practice (Masters Level Series), ICLEF, 2005
Panelist, Current Indiana Appellate Topics: Civility, Sanctions, and Whether to Publish Opinions (ISBA Appellate Practice Section Fall Meeting Roundtable), 2005
Co-Chair, Appellate Practice Seminar, ICLEF, 2004
Faculty, Developing Appellate Skills, ICLEF, 2003
Lecturer, Appellate Practice and Procedure, ICLEF, 1993
Lecturer, "Life After Opt-Out for Indiana Rural Electric Membership Cooperatives," 1998
Lecturer, "Organizational Issues for Your Cooperative's Board of Directors," 1995
Lecturer, "Readying Your Cooperative for Competitive Challenges," 1994

Experience

Director, Lewis & Kappes (2008 to present); Partner, Parr, Richey, Obremskey & Morton (1983-2007); Administrative Law Judge, Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (1981-1983); Staff Counsel, Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (1981); Law Clerk to Judge Eugene N. Chipman and Judge Robert Neal, Indiana Court of Appeals (1978-1981)

Affiliations

Past Chair, Appellate Practice Section, Indiana State Bar Association (2003-2004); Past President, Boone County Bar Association (1997); Vice President and member of Zionsville Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors; Past President and Member of Board of Directors, Boone County Chamber of Commerce; Founding Director, Past Officer on Executive Committee and Member, Community Foundation of Boone County; Charter Member, Electric Cooperative Bar Association, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (2000 to 2009); Member, Witham Health Services Foundation; Boone County 4-H Council; Boone County 4-H Community Council; Member, Indiana State Bar Association (Appellate Practice, Utility, Real Estate and Land Use, and Agricultural Law Sections); Member, Indianapolis Bar Association (Appellate Practice Section); Member, Indiana Municipal Lawyers Association (1991 to present)

Honors and Awards

Fellow, Indiana Bar Foundation (1993 to present)
Boss of the Year, presented by Boone County Legal Personnel (1996)