John D Knodell IV

Our family was new to dealing with the criminal justice system when a poor choice by our college-age child thrust us into a scary and unfamiliar situation. We want to share this review because reading these reviews is what helped us decide to contact John Knodell. First, he was responsive from th...e first phone contact. Consistent, reliable communication continued throughout the case. After meeting in person, we felt even more at ease. There was no pressure to sign on, no scare tactics. Just honest advice. There was an unexpected delay in processing and the case initially progressed slowly (and weirdly) but John regularly sought updates. Once it started in earnest, it landed with an overzealous district attorney and took a frightening turn. John navigated the entire process by our sides. In addition to explaining everything in terms we (and most important our overwhelmed child) could understand, John answered our questions patiently and demonstrated genuine care and compassion throughout. He got to know us as a family. His paralegal Shannon was equally responsive and caring. He was not judgmental, but was honest about the realities of the situation. John is clearly brilliant and understands the intricacies of the law but I’m sure there are no shortage of smart, capable attorneys available. What gives John’s clients a huge advantage is his knowledge of the system, the players involved, and his positive relationships. He previously worked in the Marion County DA’s office so he knows the individuals, their personalities and tendencies. He knows the judges well. In every instance, he predicted perfectly what to expect in our interactions, which helped our child and us to feel prepared. While he always presented the range of best case/worst case honestly, every step worked out in the “best case” option. I don’t believe this was by chance. While his first priority was advocacy on our behalf and a clear commitment to pushback and negotiate hard, John also demonstrated a natural, positive and respectful rapport with everyone from the officer who issued the original citation to the DA, the judge and even the sheriff’s deputy in the courtroom. Those relationships and John’s reputation no doubt had a positive impact on not only the case but also how our child was treated in the process. In the end, a case that involved multiple scary charges including a potential felony that would have been life-altering was resolved to a single misdemeanor. It was important to us that whatever attorney we work with be above board and beyond reproach. John is clearly respected as an ethical attorney which also reflects well on his clients. Going through this process with John minimized the impact of our child’s poor decision, left us all feeling relieved and hopeful for the future, but also allowed us to maintain our moral and ethical foundation. Choosing John Knodell as our attorney was absolutely the right decision and, while we hope to never NEED his services again, we would absolutely choose John and the team at Ferder Casebeer & Knodell agai