Kurt is a venerated trial lawyer with a depth of experience resolving commercial matters on a global basis. His international arbitration experience includes numerous commercial arbitrations before the International Chamber of Commerce in Germany, Switzerland, Hong Kong, the SCIA and the HKIAC and Investor/State disputes before the SIAC, and the PCA. In the United States, he helped negotiate the acquisition of the third-largest textile manufacturer in the United States by the largest European hosiery manufacturer and successfully defended the European firm in a $600 million breach of contract action brought by the losing bidder. According to a recent Gallup Survey, Kurt was recently ranked within the top 1 percent of all litigators in terms of his substantive knowledge, experience, client service, and satisfaction.
Kurt represented the Lao People’s Democratic Republic against a $1 billion expropriation claim in the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The government settled the investment claims with the claimant without payment and successfully defeated two material breach applications from the claimant, with all claims having been dismissed and the settlement remaining in force. Under the auspices of the Singapore International Arbitration Center, he prosecuted a $500 million breach of contract case between the same parties.
His international arbitration experience has afforded him the honor of speaking in Kyoto, Japan, on “Recent Developments in Investor /State Arbitrations,” and as a co-author in “Expedited/Fast Track Procedures in International Arbitration” at the 10th Biennial Arbitration Symposium in Salzburg, Austria. Since 2018, Kurt has been a member of the adjunct law faculty at Wake Forest University School of Law where he teaches Domestic and International Arbitration. He has served on the board of directors for the Charlotte International Arbitration Society and the Atlanta International Arbitration Society since 2015 and 2014, respectively. Kurt currently chairs the International Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association where he has been a council member since 2013.
Dedicated to his community, he has served on the board of trustees for the Woodlawn School, the board of advisors for the Wake Forest University School of Business, and the Board of Visitors for the Wake Forest University School of Law.
Kurt earned his J.D. at the Wake Forest University School of Law, where he was a member of the Moot Court Board, and his A.B. in economics from Duke University, where he graduated cum laude.