Kurt E. Entsminger

Kurt has 42 years of experience as an attorney. He has handled thousands of legal matters and has tried more than 50 civil cases to conclusion. His primary expertise is discrimination, harassment, and other employment litigation matters. He also has a wealth of experience in a wide range of other types of litigation. Kurt has been honored with the highest recognition as an AV-Preeminent attorney by Martindale Hubbell.

After graduating first in his law class at WVU in 1980, Kurt began work with a large firm in Charleston where he gained extensive civil litigation experience . In 1986, Kurt was appointed to become an Assistant United States Attorney and eventually served as the Chief of the Civil Division for the Southern District of West Virginia representing U.S. government agencies in hundreds of federal cases. During his tenure as an AUSA, Kurt was awarded two special achievement awards by the United States Attorney General for his outstanding work and litigation results.

In 1996, after reentering private practice, Kurt successfully represented a nurse in bringing claims against the hospital that discharged her for making patient safety complaints. The jury awarded this nurse more than $1.6 million in damages. The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals upheld all of the liability findings made against the hospital, and this case helped lead to the enactment of the West Virginia Patient Safety Act in 2001. Kurt also served several years as the Administrative Law Judge for the Huntington West Virginia Human Relations Commission where he heard and decided cases addressing various claims of alleged unlawful harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.

Between 1998 and 2007, Kurt served as chief legal counsel and president of Care Net, a national non-profit organization headquartered outside Washington DC. During his tenure at Care Net, Kurt provided ongoing legal guidance on employment issues and other matters to a network of more than 1000 affiliated pregnancy centers throughout all 50 states. Kurt also worked closely with the Bush Administration and Congress to develop governmental initiatives to assist pregnancy centers.

Kurt remains active in supporting the community. In 2012, he and his wife, Jenny, founded a non-profit pregnancy center in Charleston that has provided free medical services, parenting classes and other support to thousands of indigent clients. Kurt has served on local and national boards of directors for non-profit organizations. Kurt has served as a tutor at the Boys and Girls Club. He also serves on the vision committee for his church.