Kurt Sorensen

Experience

• 

  United States Marine Corps

  Jun 2010 - now

  - Served as the Commandant of the Marine Corps Criminal Law Fellow at the Eastern District of Virginia U.S. Attorney's Office.- Wrote and filed pre and post-trial pleadings in felony cases advocating in pursuit of justice for the people of the United States.- Advised and directed investigations in serious felony-level cases involving bank fraud, illegal firearms purchasing and trafficking, and mail theft. - Supervised a team of new SAUSAs, teaching them the day-to-day duties of prosecuting traffic and misdemeanor offenses. Show less - Represented four clients through contested trials involving allegations of crimes of a sexual nature, resulting in three acquittals and zero jail time. - Represented over a dozen clients facing charges of attempted murder, sexual assault, digital crimes, workplace misconduct, and other offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. - Supervised a team of up to a dozen defenders in the mission of providing too-notch legal counsel and defenses at administrative hearings, employment matters, and criminal trials. During this time period, my office had more acquittals than any other defense office in the Marine Corps and the margin was not close. Show less Prosecutor April 2015 - May 2017; May 2018 - July 2018 (26 mos.)Prosecuted 63 cases, including 40 felony cases, involving various crimes including sexual assault, grand larceny, cyber sex offenses, and homicide. Qualified as a special-victim prosecutor and trained two other prosecutors to the same level. Handled all stages of prosecution from case intake to completion. Argued for an appropriate sentence in 16 guilty hearings, including one for a case involving familial sexual assault. Litigated 7 contested trials and conducted the direct examination of a sexual assault victim and cross-examination of a defendant in a sexual assault case. Served as a special assistant United States Attorney for 16 months.Assistant General Counsel April 2017 - April 2018 (12 mos.)Served as the sole practicing attorney for a deployed unit in Iraq. Advised on issues related to operational law, ethics, criminal justice, investigations, expenditures, taxes, and the law of armed conflict. Tax Center Officer-in-Charge October 2014 - May 2015 (7 mos.)- Oversaw the tax preparation services for two military bases, which included over 4,000 tax returns and $4,100,000 in refunds.- Developed an expedited method of retirement and investment advice for our customers. This system was adopted throughout the Western region of the Marine Corps and the potential savings for the region's customers are well over two million dollars for 2016 alone.- Supervised, trained, and mentored thirteen Marines who previously had no experience in delivering tax preparation services in a dynamic environment with elevated customer service. Despite being the IRS's highest volume per employee location, our office had more positive reviews than the three previous years combined, and we did not have a single negative customer review. Show less Quarterly increments in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014 (12 mos.)Assisted in litigating 31 criminal cases, including 16 felony-level cases (7 sexual assault) byresearching legal issues, drafting motions and responses, directing investigations, andinterviewing over 80 witnesses. Advocated in 3 criminal trials by directing and crossexamining witnesses, including the defendant, orally responding to motions and objections,and arguing for an appropriate sentence. Represented the government in 20 employmenttermination hearings in a role similar to a prosecutor, by handling all trial roles, including directing expert witnesses and cross-examining the responding employees. Show less

  • Special Trial Counsel Team Lead (Supervisory Prosecutor)

    Aug 2023 - now

  • Special Assistant United States Attorney (Fellowship)

    Jul 2022 - Aug 2023

  • Senior Defense Counsel (Supervisory Public Defender)

    Jul 2019 - Jul 2022

  • Lawyer (Initial Tour in Western Region)

    Oct 2014 - Jul 2019

  • Assistant Prosecutor

    Jun 2010 - Oct 2014