The Honorable Donald S. Kurtz (Ret.) Joins NAM's Esteemed Panel of Neutrals

New York, NY (January 3, 2024) – NAM (National Arbitration and Mediation) is proud to announce the addition of the Honorable Donald S. Kurtz (Ret.) to its award-winning roster of neutrals.

The Honorable Donald S. Kurtz is a former Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Kings County where he presided for 18 years over the Jury Coordinating Part and the City Trial Readiness Part. During his tenure, Judge Kurtz successfully negotiated and settled tens of thousands of cases and oversaw the court's entire inventory of trial-ready civil cases which consisted of personal injury and tort matters including construction, motor vehicle, premises liability, labor law cases, employment, contract and business disputes, attorney fee disputes, and other commercial matters. He also presided over the Non-Jury Trial Readiness Part, the Early Settlement Conference Part, the Central Compliance Part, the Default Judgment Motion Part, and an all-purpose Trial Part. While presiding over these various trial parts, Judge Kurtz regularly conferenced cases and negotiated settlements quickly and effectively.

Prior to his election to the Supreme Court, Judge Kurtz was elected to the Kings County Civil Court. During his six years on the Civil Court bench, Judge Kurtz presided over nearly 400 trials, including more than 100 jury trials, non-jury trials, small claims trials and trials involving unrepresented litigants. He often presided over the Civil Court's trial assignment part, as well as pro se trial and small claims proceedings, housing court proceedings, and commercial landlord/tenant proceedings.

Prior to serving on the bench, Judge Kurtz served as law secretary to Judge Sebastian Leone, Supreme Court of the State of New York, Kings County and Judge Frank J. Pino, Supreme Court of the State of New York, Kings County.   

Roy Israel, Chairman and Founder of NAM, stated “Judge Kurtz is a welcome addition to NAM's exceptional roster of neutrals. He is well-respected and praised by those attorneys that have appeared before him for his great skill and fairness. His experience conferencing, settling, and trying a wide variety of cases will serve NAM's clients well.”

Judge Kurtz is available to mediate cases throughout the New York Metro Area.

About NAM

NAM is a full-service provider of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) services – supporting clients throughout the U.S. and in major cities around the world through a highly secure suite of onsite, virtual and hybrid forums. With its superb customer service, market-leading technology, and an exceptional panel of arbitrators and mediators, NAM works with over 10,000 commercial entities, including over half of the Fortune 100 companies. Throughout its 30+ year history, the company has consistently been ranked one of the top ADR and Continuing Legal Education providers in the country, including in the most recent “Best Of” surveys by the National Law Journal and the New York Law Journal.