Long Narrative Biography

Kurt Snyder holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Indiana University School of Law at Indianapolis and a B.A. from Wabash College. He was admitted to the Indiana State Bar in 1996.

Currently, Kurt spends most of his time on two endeavors. He is an attorney at the law firm of Davis & Sarbinoff as Senior Of Counsel. The law firm has offices in Indianapolis and Honolulu and specializes in providing legal advice to small businesses. Kurt also is the principal owner of Xsimple, which is a small marketing and technology consulting firm. Most of Xsimple's clients are professional entities such as law firms, medical related firms, and non-profits. Previously, Kurt has done consulting work for Xplane, which is the world’s leading visual design and communication firm that specializes in making complex business issues easier to understand. Xplane’s client list is a who’s who of corporate America ranging from Microsoft to Anheuser-Busch. As a consultant for Xplane, Kurt was involved in large marketing initiatives for clients such as Motorola and British Petroleum.

Prior to being a Principal at Xsimple, Kurt was Director and Counsel of Trial Court Technology for the state of Indiana’s judicial branch of government. In this capacity, Kurt acted as the chief information officer and principal staff person for the Judicial Technology and Automation Committee (JTAC) and the state’s presence on the Internet. During that time, the Court’s website was recognized as the best court website in the world by the National Center for State Courts. While managing a multi-million dollar budget, Kurt was a key leader and driving force in court technology initiatives, bringing Internet access and email to judges statewide; offering free computer training and online legal research access to all judicial employees; and coordinating the judiciary’s efforts to modernize.

Prior to working for the Court, Kurt was the Assistant Consultant on Legal Education to the American Bar Association; as such, he carried out the work of the ABA's Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar relating to legal education and bar admission matters, including the law school accreditation process. An avid proponent of technology, Kurt took the Section of Legal Education’s Internet presence from a single web page to the most often visited website on the ABA Network in less than two years. Kurt was also the driving force in the creation of the leading source of law school information available to consumers.

Kurt also serves on occasion as an adjunct professor for the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University teaching courses on business law and business computer applications. In 2009 Kurt taught a class on Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access.

Kurt recently earned his 1st degree brown belt in karate from the Adamson’s Karate Dojo in Carmel and hopes to become a black belt in 2012. Kurt, who is a sporadic runner, is competing in the 2011 Dino Trail Running Series along with his eleven year old daughter, which is a series of 5k trail running events throughout the state. In 2007 he finished 6th place overall in the statewide DINO trail running series. During college, Kurt excelled in both track and cross country. In track, Kurt was the Junior 1500 meter indoor state champion; and, in cross country Kurt ran for a nationally ranked team starting as a freshman.

Kurt is an active volunteer. Kurt currently has volunteer commitments to the following entities: Indiana Chapter for the FBI Citizen’s Academy; Carmel Clay School System Web Advisory Board; Dinoseries, the preeminent mountain biking and trial running series in Indiana; Forest Dale Elementary Yearbook and Fundraising Committees; Battlefield Chivalry, a nationwide youth leadership series; and the Williamson Run Neighborhood Association.

Kurt has been fortunate to receive recognition both in Indiana and nationally for his efforts. In 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 he was honored, as a recipient of a special letter of recognition for receiving outstanding evaluations from students at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. In 2006, the Indiana Supreme Court Jury Pool Project, which Kurt spearheaded, received the national merit award from the American Judicature Society. In 2005, he was the recipient of Government Technology Magazine's "Top 25: Doers, Dreamers and Drivers," awarded annually by the nation's leading government technology magazine to the top 25 individuals in IT for government. (This annual list typically has several U.S. Senators and state Governors. Last year, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was the most well known recipient.) In 2004, he was the recipient of Indiana's "Collaboration Award," presented annually by Indiana's Chief Information Officer to the individual that demonstrates an ability to collaborate and lead technology efforts in state government. And, in 2003, he was honored as one of the "Forty under 40", awarded annually by Indiana's most prestigious business magazine, Indianapolis Business Journal, to 40 individuals under the age of 40 that demonstrate excellence and leadership.

Kurt and his wife Debbie have two children -- Summer and Bradley – and live in Carmel, Indiana.