Kurt Arnold
Founding Partner | Arnold & Itkin LLP
Kurt Arnold is a personal injury, maritime law and product liability trial lawyer and founding partner at Arnold & Itkin LLP in Houston, Texas. Admitted in Texas, Pennsylvania and Arizona; J.D., University of Texas School of Law.
Meet Kurt
"We take the cases we must win because it's the right thing—the ones we have to win. Even if it's hard. Especially if it's hard."
Kurt Arnold is a founding partner of Arnold & Itkin LLP in Houston, Texas, a trial firm that represents people in personal injury, maritime, product liability, wrongful death, mass tort, trucking and workplace accident cases. He co-founded the firm at age 25.
According to the firm’s profile, Arnold has won more than $25 billion in verdicts and settlements. His reported results include a $117 million verdict described as the largest single-plaintiff personal injury verdict in Louisiana history, a $357.7 million settlement in what the firm calls the largest workplace accident case in Texas history, and a $44 million verdict for an amputee. He represented 27 men and women who were on the Deepwater Horizon.
Arnold graduated from the University of Texas with a bachelor’s degree in government and high honors at age 19 and earned his law degree with honors from the University of Texas School of Law, finishing in the top 5 percent of his class. He is licensed in Texas, Pennsylvania and Arizona and is admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court and several federal courts of appeals.
He is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates and the Million and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Best Lawyers named him Lawyer of the Year for mass tort litigation and class actions on behalf of plaintiffs for 2027 and for product liability litigation on behalf of plaintiffs for 2026.
Experience and Expertise
Qualifications
Timeline
- University of Texas, B.A. in Government, high honors
- University of Texas School of Law, J.D., with honors
- Admitted to the State Bar of Texas (2002)
- Admitted to the State Bar of Pennsylvania
- Admitted to the State Bar of Arizona
- Admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court
Practice Areas
- Inner Circle of Advocates (Member)
- Million Dollar Advocates Forum and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum (Member)
- National Association of Distinguished Counsel (Founding Member, Nation's Top 100 Attorneys)
- Lawyer of the Year, Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs, Best Lawyers (2027)
- Lawyer of the Year, Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs, Best Lawyers (2026)
- Best Lawyers, Admiralty and Maritime Law (2016-2027)
- Best Lawyers, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs (2018-2027)
- Lawdragon Legends (2024)
- Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America (2017-2026)
- Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers (2019-2026)
- Texas Super Lawyers (2013-2026)
- Top 100: Houston Super Lawyers (2015-2022, 2024-2025)
- Top 100 Trial Lawyer, The National Trial Lawyers
- $357.7 Million Settlement: Settlement described by the firm as the largest workplace accident settlement in Texas history, obtained with Jason Itkin and Kyle Findley.
- $125 Million Settlement: Settlement for the widow of a dredge worker.
- $117 Million Verdict: Verdict described by the firm as the largest single-plaintiff personal injury verdict in Louisiana history.
- $254 Million Settlement: Settlement for victims of a catastrophic plant explosion.
- $193 Million Settlement: Settlement for two individuals injured offshore, described by the firm as the largest of its kind in U.S. history.
- $185 Million Settlement: Settlement for seamen injured during a severe weather event, obtained with Kyle Findley, John Grinnan and Kala Sellers.
- $44 Million Verdict: Verdict described by the firm as the largest single-amputee verdict in the United States.
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