Kurt A. Smith

PRO

Kurt A. Smith

4.4
Rating: 7.2

Licensed for 18 years

Family Lawyer at Henderson, NV
Practice Areas: Family, Adoption, Marriage & Prenuptials ... +3 more

1701 N. Green Valley Parkway, Suite 8E, Henderson, NV

Virtual Consultation Available

About Kurt

Biography

Smith Legal Group provides expert-level services for all family law cases. Help is one call away!

We handle all family law cases including Divorce, Child Custody, Annulment, Guardianship, and more!

Practice Areas

6

Practice Areas

Adoption 25%

25%
Family 25%

25%
Marriage and Prenuptials 20%

20%
Alimony 10%

10%
Child Abuse 10%

10%
Uncontested Divorce 10%

10%

Fees and Rates

Cost

Hourly Rates

$ 300-450 per hour


Payment Methods

  • Cash
  • Check
  • Credit Card

Awards

Client's Choice
Client's Choice
2017 2016 2015
...
+ 1

Licenses

Licensed in Nevada for 18 years

State: Nevada

Acquired: 2007

Active

Lawyer disciplined by state licensing authority in 2018

Location

Smith Legal Group

1701 N. Green Valley Parkway, Suite 8E, Henderson, NV, 89074

thelegalsmith.com

Kurt A. Smith's Reviews

Avvo Review Score

4.4 /5.0

46 Client Reviews

Showing 16 - 20 of 21 reviews | Recommendation

Posted by Roz | October 07, 2014 | Family

A Need For a Trustworthy Family Lawyer Came Through......

I needed some family legal help with extremely shorty notice. I had no idea who to reach out to and had limited time to figure it out, which felt overwhelming and stressful. I reached out to a few recommended lawyers but got no reply in the time frame I needed, so I randomly looked up family law. ...I called the number for Smith Family Law from Google, and managed to get a free consultation over the phone. I initially spoke with Kurt's assistant who then directed me to speak with Kurt. I expressed my legal concerns and found Kurt to be thorough and direct, which I appreciated. Kurt was very honest and told me my options, including a route I could take to save myself a ton of legal fees. I was able to have Kurt draw up the legal document I needed in less than 12 hours and he had the document waiting for me first thing the following morning just as he had promised. The legal document covered everything and more, ensuring all went smoothly with my next steps. I was so pleased and wound up saving thousands of dollars by taking Kurt's advice. It was clear to me from there on that Kurt will always be a family lawyer I will trust for any future needs. Everything was easy after that. I don't know what I would have done without Kurt's professionalism, and in depth knowledge of the family legal system. The stress relief felt like a huge weight off my shoulders. I highly recommend Kurt to anyone looking for a trustworthy, knowledgeable lawyer, who will get things done at the drop of a hat and cover more than you even expected. Kurt, I cant thank you enough!

Posted by anonymous | September 15, 2014 | Criminal Defense

Best Attorney Ever!

I had some pretty severe legal issues and hired a big name lawyer here in town. He was worthless. Then I hired Mr. Smith. Not only did he run circles around my last lawyer, he completely finessed the system, got me minimum consequences for the issues that I had, kept me from getting into additiona...l trouble, and worked legal magic like I have never seen before. I would definitely hire Kurt Smith for any case that he was willing to take for me. He was more than just an attorney for me. He became a friend.

Posted by Melody Villegas | August 22, 2014 | Family

A LAWYER WITH A BIG HEART!!!!

I referred Kurt to a friend of mine that he and his office represented very well. But my review is mainly to tell you I was in Shock and Aww when one day I had to go to Family court and didn't have a lawyer and Kurt saw me sitting there and asked what I was doing and when I explained the story he rep...resented me for free. I couldn't believe it. Never in my life have I ever seen a lawyer do what he did. I can't thank him enough for taking his busy time to help me. Something I will never forget. I want to thank you and let society know - He's a family man himself and has a heart. So when your looking for a great family lawyer I would highly recommend Kurt and his firm. They have great communication skills and stay on top of your case.

Posted by Holly | March 17, 2016 | Hired Attorney | Lawsuits & Disputes

KEEP LOOKING

Think TWICE & move on before retaining this attorney! Especially if you expect professionalism, communication & value for your money. My first clue should have been the poorly written demand letter. Little wonder it didn't have the desired effect. Neither did my call to his office asking ...further action be put on hold. Oddly, Mr Smith continued ordering work be typed up which conveniently used up my retainer. His office manager couldn't resolve my concerns so she set up a phone conference at 1 pm. By 7pm, he hadn't called nor could I get any help from his staff. Don't be taken in by his calm demeanor & confidence. After the initial consult you'll never talk to him again. Also kiss your retainer goodbye when you give it to him. He'll find some reason to use it up, believe me!!

Kurt Smith

Replied last March 17, 2016

Holly is a client that first came to my office on June 23, 2015. She was having issues visiting with her grandkids that she felt had to be resolved by mid-July 2015. After listening to her issues, we developed a plan that included initiating a Grandparent's Rights Visitation action, filing a Motion for said visitation, and attempting to expedite the hearing with the Court so that her deadline could be met. I explained that it was imperative that we act immediately, as a failure to do so would result in the Court not having time to hear her case before her deadline. Holly fails to mention that despite her urgent need for legal services, she could only come up with a highly reduced retainer fee. Notwithstanding her need for expedited legal services and inability to come up with a full retainer, I agreed to take Holly's case. Holly hired my office on June 25, 2015, at which time I immediately assigned my staff to begin working on her case. On July 2, 2016, Holly changed the plan. Rather than immediately submitting the legal paperwork that we had drafted, Holly decided she would rather first send a Demand Letter to the opposing party. She then demanded to review the letter prior to its submittal. It was explained to Holly that 1) in this circumstance, a Demand Letter was unlikely to be effective and 2) changing the strategy mid-stream like this was likely going to make meeting her stated deadline impossible. Holly indicated that she understood and the new strategy was implemented. The Demand Letter was drafted and submitted to Holly, who sent it back with requested changes due to her fear that the tone of the demand letter was overly harsh and she didn't want to hurt the opposing party's feelings. The revisions Holly requested were made and the letter was submitted. Not surprisingly, Holly's Demand Letter was ineffective and Holly's deadline was missed. In fact, Holly's deadline came and went and Holly never gave the office the permission to file her legal papers. My office kept in touch with Holly over the next few months. Holly was having many of the same ups and downs with the opposing party that she was having prior to coming into my office. However, she could never quite bring herself to file the papers that we had drafted for her. On September 5, 2015, I emailed Holly informing her that we had not heard from her in a while and asking her what she wanted to do with her case. On September 7, 2015, Holly emailed me back asking us to hold off, as she was having second thoughts, but thanking us for the great work that we had done so far. On November 13, 2015, Holly contacted my office, informed us that she no longer wanted to proceed with her case, and asking for a refund of her retainer fee. My office manager informed Holly that she was entitled to a refund of all unused retainer fees, which at that point was $269.51. Holly became irate. She felt that even though she had hired my office to do legal work back in June and that my office, pursuant to her request, had drafted the legal documents requested, because she hadn't used the documents, she shouldn't have to pay for them. Holly claimed to have asked me to hold off on all work during one of our conversations about her case in August 2015 (so much for not being able to get a hold of me). Holly was reminded that she had hired our office in June 2015 and that we had begun our work immediately. Accordingly, even if Holly had requested us to stop work in August, she would have had to pay for the time spent drafting the legal documents for her in the June/July timeframe. To date, we have sent Holly a retainer refund check approximately three times. Holly keeps sending it back demanding a full refund. I appreciate Holly's compliment regarding my calm demeanor and confidence. We do excellent work, but we do need to be paid for the work that we do. We generally do not offer refunds for work that has already been completed.

Posted by Jeremy | October 15, 2015 | Child Custody

Worst Attorney Ever!!!!

DON'T USE THIS ATTORNEY!!! The State of Nevada referred me to Kurt as he was an affordable attorney. I needed someone to represent me in a custody battle. When I met with him for my consultation, he informed me that my case should not cost me more then $4,000. After receiving several bills with o...utrageous charges, I called to get information on why I was being charged so much. He informed me that they are inflating the price as they are going after my ex wife for my attorney fees. Once the case is closed they will reduce the price down to the quoted price if we don't get approved to have her pay for the fees. Once the case was all set and done we did not get approval to have her pay for the fees but yet he was not a man of his word and did not reduce his charges. So in the end he wants me to pay over $10,000. My ex wife paid her attorney $3,000 to do the same things Kurt did. He is a crocked individual. He has the nerve to charge my account $2,500 to have a fill in attorney and his paralegal defend me at one of the court dates. It is not my fault you decided to take a vacation when I had a court date and I should not be responsible to pay for his mistakes. Key point to this story, DO NOT USE THIS ATTORNEY AS YOU WILL NOT BE ANYTHING TO HIM BUT A DOLLAR SIGN AND HE WILL TELL YOU ANYTHING TO GET AS MUCH MONEY FROM YOU!!

Kurt Smith

Replied last January 13, 2015

Jeremy's review lends proof to the theory that no good deed goes unpunished. Jeremy came to my office as a low-income client that needed legal assistance. I agreed to help him and began working on his case for a severely reduced retainer fee. I also agreed to accept very low monthly payments on his case in an effort to get him the legal representation he needed within his very meager budget. Turns out, Jeremy and his wife had originally decided to get a fraudulent divorce in Nye County (using a different law firm) - fraudulent because neither party lived there at the time. Jeremy ended up needing to fight this case in both Nye County and Clark County - an unfortunate circumstance that greatly increased Jeremy's bill. Jeremy's wife used the same lawyer that had bungled the case in the first place. Jeremy's ex's counsel filed inappropriate motions in Nye County and when those proved ineffective, attempted to start the entire case over again in Clark County for what was effectively a third case. My firm competently handled all three cases and got the Jeremy the best result possible under the circumstances - circumstances which included allegations of drug use which ended up being true. By means of fact check, please be advised of the following: 1) My firm NEVER quotes a flat fee to handle an entire case. Jeremy's allegation that this occurred is false. 2) My firm NEVER inflates prices in hopes of having opposing counsel pay an inflated attorney's fees award. Attorney's fees are discretionary with the judge and doing so would cause severe problems. 3) I did not go on vacation in the middle of Jeremy's case leaving Jeremy hanging out to dry. I had hearings scheduled simultaneously in Clark County and Nye County. I handled the multiple hearings in Clark County and sent an Associate AND the Paralegal that was working on Jeremy's case to Nye County to represent him. Incidentally, we won the Hearing in Nye County. That notwithstanding, Jeremy expressed his dissatisfaction that I had not personally appeared at his Nye County Hearing. What Jeremy fails to state is that as a courtesy to him, I waived the entire fee for that Associate's time and the Paralegal's time and took that entire amount off of Jeremy's bill. 4) I am one of the few attorneys in town that will accept monthly payments on their cases. The reason for this is that most attorney's have figured out that people on monthly payments often stop paying their bill. Although I understand that as well, I often feel bad when people need help and just can't come up with a huge retainer fee to get the help they need. As I stated, I set Jeremy up on a very low retainer and a very low monthly fee. About halfway into Jeremy's representation, Jeremy informed me he could no longer pay the entire monthly fee and began paying me less than half of the previously agreed upon fee. That notwithstanding, I kept working on Jeremy's case. Jeremy assured me that he would keep paying his bill until his bill was paid. Unfortunately, that has not proved to be the case. 5) Jeremy misstates what I told him at our initial meeting. For the record, what I told him was "you keep doing your part and paying your monthly bill and I will keep doing my part and will keep representing you throughout these proceedings. At the end, we will sit down and discuss your bill and discuss a fee reduction to help get your bill paid off faster." When the successful end of Jeremy's representation came, Jeremy still owed my firm $6,794.81. He has only ever paid $3,100.00. AFTER the case was concluded, Jeremy informed me that he felt he had paid enough. Although I have offered Jeremy a SUBSTANTIAL fee reduction to help him out, Jeremy has stated that the only fee reduction he will accept is 100%. I understand there will always be people out there who will not want to pay. However, for me, getting Jeremy Joint Custody despite his drug issues was a good result for Jeremy.

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Kurt A. Smith's Lawyer Endorsements

Endorse Kurt
Carol M Barnes headshot
Carol Barnes

Family lawyer | Jun 21

Relationship: Opposing Counsel on matter

"I endorse this lawyer. Kurt is a knowledgeable and compassionate attorney who zealously advocates for his client. As opposing counsel, Kurt always promptly responded to my calls and worked toward resolution."

Mark V. Clay headshot
Mark Clay

Family lawyer | Aug 23

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I highly endorse Mr. Smith. Truly exceptional and caring attorney who produces great results in representing clients! I want all people with legal problems to contact him first."

John Fisher headshot
John Fisher

Family lawyer | Jul 04

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer. Intelligent and compassionate with superior communication skills."

Jonathan Pierre Lacour headshot
Jonathan Lacour

Family lawyer | Apr 27

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer. Quality representation and exceptional attentiveness to clients."

Brandon K. Leavitt headshot
Brandon Leavitt

Family lawyer | Mar 17

Relationship: Opposing Counsel on matter

"Mr. Smith is a highly skilled and competent attorney. He is courteous and professional and does an excellent job zealously representing his clients. He his a credit to our profession and I am pleased to call him my friend and colleague."

Jill L Rogers headshot
Jill Rogers

Unknown lawyer | Jan 15

Relationship: Other

"I endorse this lawyer."

Judd S Nemiro headshot
Judd Nemiro

Unknown lawyer | Jan 12

Relationship: Other

"Great representation. I endorse this lawyer."

Christian K. Lassen II headshot
Christian Lassen

Unknown lawyer | Dec 21

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"Top-notch attorney. Highly respected in the legal community."

View All Endorsements
Carol M Barnes headshot
Carol Barnes

Family lawyer

Jonathan Pierre Lacour headshot
Jonathan Lacour

Unknown lawyer

Brandon K. Leavitt headshot
Brandon Leavitt

Child custody lawyer

Eric P. Roy headshot
Eric Roy

Child custody lawyer

Gary M. Zernich headshot
Gary Zernich

Family lawyer

Jill L Rogers headshot
Jill Rogers

Child custody lawyer

Christian K. Lassen II headshot
Christian Lassen

Unknown lawyer

Judd S Nemiro headshot
Judd Nemiro

Family lawyer

Experience

Rating:  7.2 (Very Good)

Professional misconduct

This lawyer was disciplined by a state licensing authority in 2018.

Public Reprimand issued in NV, 2018

updated on 12/07/2018

Public reprimand means an attorney did something wrong but may still practice law. The State gives the lawyer a public reprimand in hopes that he or she will not repeat the behavior. Details of the infraction are made part of the public record.

Honors

2014

Client Choice Award, AVVO

Work Experience

2011 - Present

Attorney/Owner, Smith Legal Group

2009 - 2011

Attorney/Partner, Smith & Kim Attorneys at Law

2006 - 2009

Associate, Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll

Associations

2007 - Present

Nevada State Bar

attorney member

Education

2007

William S. Boyd School of Law

JD - Juris Doctor

1999

University of Nevada

BS - Bachelor of Science

Speaking Engagements

2007

Family Law Education Course

Family Law

Languages

English

French

Activity

Avvo Rating

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What determines Avvo Rating?
  • Experience & background Years licensed, work experience, education
  • Legal community recognition Peer endorsements, associations, awards
  • Legal thought leadership Publications, speaking engagements
  • Discipline
    This lawyer was disciplined by a state licensing authority in 2018
    Disciplinary information may not be comprehensive, or updated. We recommend that you always check a lawyer's disciplinary status with their respective state bar association before hiring them.
Avvo Rating Levels
10.0 - 9.0 Superb8.9 - 8.0 Excellent7.9 - 7.0 Very Good6.9 - 6.0 Good5.9 - 5.0 Average4.9 - 4.0 Concern3.9 - 3.0 Caution2.9 - 2.0 Strong Caution1.9 - 1.0 Extreme Caution