Kurt is both a courtroom advocate and a boardroom advisor, representing clients in corporate transactions and business disputes, loan workouts, receiverships, and business bankruptcy cases — having appeared in more than 500 of the latter.
Clients call Kurt when a loan, a deal, or a partnership is going bad. Lawyers make more money when disputes can’t be resolved; Kurt’s advice runs the other way. He uses every tool at his disposal to resolve issues before they reach court or go to trial, and most of his matters never see either — they end in agreements, restructured loans, consensual sales, and settlements built around what the firm’s client and the other side actually need. His idea of success is working himself out of a job, with a resolution on every engagement. Clients who’ve watched him do it call earlier the next time, before the trouble hardens into a lawsuit.
When a case has to be tried, he tries it. Kurt’s courtroom record includes wins before the 6th and 7th Circuit Courts of Appeals and the supreme courts of two states—one for a large reinsurer in Tennessee, and in 2026 for the Menominee Indian Tribe in Wisconsin.
Kurt came to private practice after seven years inside Comerica Bank’s legal department, and founded Carlson Dash in 2011. He’s handled suits in state, bankruptcy, and federal courts, covering everything from contract disputes to fraud and nearly everything a business touches in between. His clients span manufacturing, retail, lending, and private equity, from small and mid-size companies to nationally recognized brands. He’s licensed in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Colorado.
Kurt also serves as General Counsel to Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, the American Malting Barley Association, and FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative, among other companies and associations, advising on governance, contracts, and the range of issues their boards and management teams face — the questions worth answering before they turn into disputes.
“Persistence Pays, Impatience Costs — Almost Always”
In the Profession
Kurt has been recognized as a Super Lawyer and named by the Leading Lawyers Network as a top Illinois attorney in commercial bankruptcy, workout law, and creditors’ rights every year since 2008. He was one of the original editors of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Volo Circuit Court Opinion First Responder for the Seventh Circuit, served early in his career on the Bankruptcy Court Liaison Committee of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and speaks and writes frequently on litigation, corporate transactions, and insolvency.
In the Community
Kurt’s community work runs deeper than volunteering. He helped The Matthias Academy — a day program for adults with developmental disabilities — launch from its infancy, when it was still just an idea; it has since grown from 13 students to 90 across two campuses.
He founded Frozen Floor Inc., a 501(c)(3) dedicated to youth and adaptive skating, and along with his business partner, rescued Top Shelf Ice Arena from closure during COVID.
A Level 4 USA Hockey Coach, he has coached both hockey and baseball, supported his church and programs for the blind, and spoken with high school students about credit and financial responsibility. He also holds a journeyman stagehand card with IATSE Local 2.
Legal Background
Thomas M. Cooley Law School, J.D., 1990
Michigan State University, B.A., 1987
Admitted: Kurt is admitted to practice in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Colorado. He is also admitted to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Illinois; Central District of Illinois; Eastern District of Michigan; Eastern District of Wisconsin; Western District of Wisconsin; United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; and represents clients in other jurisdictions on a pro hac vice basis.
Memberships: Federal Trial Bar, Federal Bar Association, State Bar of Michigan, Illinois State Bar Association, Wisconsin Bar Association, American Bankruptcy Institute, Chicago Bar Association, and Milwaukee Bar Association.
