About Robert R.
Robert R. Kurtz built a law career that moves between courtrooms and classrooms. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 1992 and a J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1997. Those years set the groundwork for a practice that spans state and federal work.
Kurtz began practicing in Tennessee after law school and entered private practice early in his career. He became a partner at Eldridge & Gaines, PLLC in 2000, a role that placed him squarely in Tennessee’s litigation landscape. In 2007 he left that partnership to form Stanley & Kurtz, PLLC, where he served as owner. He later established an office under his own name, continuing to handle criminal matters in the region.
His involvement in public defense and criminal practice extends beyond client representation. Since 2003 he has served as the Criminal Justice Act District Panel Representative for the Eastern District of Tennessee, a role that involves oversight and coordination of appointed federal defense counsel. He also joined the board of the Federal Defender Services of East Tennessee in 2009 and remains on that board. Those positions reflect sustained ties to federal defense work and the systems that support appointed counsel.
Kurtz has maintained a presence in legal education. In 2009 he returned to the University of Tennessee College of Law as an adjunct professor. His classroom work ran alongside ongoing trial practice, allowing him to bring practical courtroom perspectives to students.
Professional memberships thread through his career. He holds life membership in the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and is a member of the Tennessee Association of Criminal Lawyers. He has been active in the Knoxville Bar Association since 2000. Earlier in his career he served on the board of the Wesley House Community Center from 2006 to 2008.
Practically speaking, Kurtz’s work centers on criminal defense at both the state level and in federal courts covered by the Sixth Circuit. He represents individuals in a range of criminal matters and participates in the institutional side of federal defense through panel administration and defender services. He currently practices as Robert R. Kurtz, Lawyer at Law, focusing on criminal defense and federal appointed cases in the Eastern District of Tennessee.
