Since 1995, Kent has served on the board of directors of LAW (Lawyers and Advocates of Wyoming), a non-profit social affairs law firm founded by partners of The Spence Law Firm, LLC. Kent W. Spence is a third-generation Wyomingite born and raised in Riverton. Wyoming. Kent was a carpenter until the age of 24, when he went to the University of Montana and received his bachelor`s degree in philosophy in 1982. He received his law degree from Mercer University, Walter F. George School of Law in Macon, Georgia, in 1986. Kent then moved to The Spence Law Firm, LLC and has been a partner since 1995. Kent also attended Gerry Spence`s thirty-day Trial Lawyers College in 1995 and has been on the faculty from that time until today. From 2005 to present, Kent has served on the Board of Directors of Trial Lawyers College (TLC).
Kent and his wife, Lisel, have two children, Ariella and Dylan, both born in Wyoming in the fourth generation. Kent was a co-lawyer for the self-defense of Randy Weaver`s Gerry, who was charged with first-degree murder and later acquitted. Kent and Gerry jointly advised in the Fouad Kaady civil rights case. It was the first state to allow women to vote and hold public office, as well as the first to allow women to serve on juries. Wyoming also had the nation`s first female judge and first female governor. Kent is a member of the Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association, the American Trial Lawyers Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Wyoming Bar Association, the Teton County Bar Association, the Academy of Catastrophic Injury Attorneys, the Public Justice, and the Board of Directors of the Chief Washakie Foundation (Education for Native Americans on the Wind River Indian Reservation and Preservation Indian Culture and Indian Language). In this INSIDER EXCLUSIVE Investigative Network special, « WYOMING TRIAL LAWYER FOR JUSTICE – KENT SPENCE, » our press team visits Kent at his home in Dubois, Wyoming. Today, it serves as the center of the Trial Lawyers College. Inspired by the now-famous Karen Silkwood v. Kerr McGhee Corp case, the story told in the Oscar-nominated film « Silkwood, » Kent changed the direction of his entire life.
He participated in the trial and became a litigator himself in 1986. « Nature had gathered all its beauties in one chosen place, » wrote John C. Fremont in 1842 describing the land that later became the state of Wyoming. At The Spence Law Firm, our team of qualified Wyoming personal injury attorneys are dedicated to defending your rights. Our award-winning partners, staff, paralegals and other staff are well equipped to assist you with a range of bodily injuries and provide excellent representation and compassionate advice from start to finish. Kent has received more than $100 million in jury verdicts and settlements during his three decades as a lawyer advocating for the people in some of his own successful cases: Kent was admitted to the bar or had cases in Wyoming and many other states, including Alaska. Arizona, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Michigan, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, California. Nevada, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas.
He has served in numerous federal district courts and has appeared before the Wyoming Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Kent`s 30-year history serving the American people. illustrates the same code of true justice. This feeling of equality. and the tradition and spirit of hard work and autonomy that shaped the heart, soul, and backbone of one of America`s top litigators. Kent Spence. Because of its inspiring landscape, Wyoming holds a special place in our nation`s history. It is fitting that Wyoming is known as the « state of equality » because it was the first state to give women equal rights and opportunities. Kent has been honored by the National Trial Lawyers Association with a Top 100 Wyoming Litigators award since 2008 and served as its president in 2004-2005, following in the footsteps of his Wyoming ancestors. Jim Bridger, « Buffalo Bill » Cody, Jedediah Smith, Chief Washakie, and his father, Gerry Spence, Kent, have had numerous multi-million dollar settlements and jury verdicts, in oilfields and construction injuries, wrongful homicide, civil liberties, product liability, trucks, and medical malpractice. Personally and spiritually, Kent has a deep and long-standing connection to the Shoshone tribe of the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming.
He is a graduate of Trial Lawyers College (TLC) and has been with the faculty for 21 years. He taught thousands of lawyers the TLC method developed by his father, Gerry. Kent twice attended the Western Trial Advocacy Institute, founded by Gerry Spence and Justices Robert Rose and Joseph Cardine of the Wyoming Supreme Court. From Jim Bridger, the famous frontier worker, to « Buffalo Bill » Cody, one of the most famous characters of the American Wild West. to Jedediah Smith, famous miner of Chief Washakie, famous Shoshone warrior. These famous Americans established a code of justice that formed the foundation and spirit of American justice. And over the past 30 years, the same spirit of true justice. This feeling of equality. and this tradition of hard work and Wyoming autonomy shaped the heart, soul and backbone of one of America`s top litigators, Kent Spence, a third-generation Wyomingite son of legendary lawyer Gerry Spence. With his father Gerry as his mentor, even before he became a lawyer, Kent investigated and worked on preparing for Gerry`s « Collin`s Catch the Bear » murder trial in South Dakota. Kent also served with Gerry as a supporting attorney in the defense of Sandra Jones` murder, which was the subject of Gerry`s book « Smoking Gun. » Kent is the past president of the Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association for the 2004-5 term and is a permanent member of the Board of Directors.
He and his partners remain active in leading the Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association and advocating for the right to justice for the people of Wyoming. In fact, as a young man, Kent loved working with his hands, so he first worked on ranches. He worked as a carpenter`s assistant during the summer of high school. Kent moved the largest building ever moved to Wyoming. A historic barn is located 6 miles on a wild road upstream from the ranch. in the middle of winter. The people of Kent are typical of the salt of the earth. Gerry took the family hunting, fishing, horseback riding, and hiking in the mountains of Wyoming. The family spent summers at their ranch, where the children learned the value of hard work. Wyoming is also known as the Cowboy State, which honors the hard work and independence of early ranchers and pioneers.
Wyoming is the true Wild West, many of whose famous personalities have made significant contributions to the history of our nation and the state of Wyoming. Kent Spence is a litigator specializing in assault, wrongful homicide, civil liberties and criminal defence.