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Attorney Profiles

Dev K. Sethi

Tucson, Arizona
Partner

Phone: (520) 545-1663
Fax: (520) 790-1163
Email: dsethi@kbsds.com

Dev Sethi litigates and tries a wide-range of high profile injury and death cases throughout Arizona. In recent years, Dev has been at the forefront of auto product defect litigation. He played a key role in uncovering the Goodyear Load Range E tire scandal and worked to hold Ford Motor Company responsible for the danger posed by their now notorious 15-passenger vans. Dev is currently representing families in product liability suits against the nation’s largest corporations including General Motors, Ford, Honda and Stanley Tools.

In addition to his work in the area of products liability, Dev has represented vulnerable individuals in abuse cases; individuals and families in suits against state, local and federal government agencies in a wide range of issues; and individuals involved in trucking and bicycle accidents.

Prior to joining the firm, Dev worked in Nevada and Arizona as a defense lawyer representing insurance companies and other corporations. Like Ted Schmidt, Dev worked for O’Connor Cavanagh, a large defense firm that was recognized by Arizona Business Magazine as “The Best Firm in Arizona”. This experience provides Dev with unique insight into the tactics and strategies of defendants, and he is proud to put this knowledge to work for people harmed by the very companies he once defended.

A graduate of Duke University (A.B. 1994) and the University of Arizona College of Law (J.D. 1997), Dev served on the Editorial Board of the Journal of International and Comparative Law. He remains active in the law school community, serving as an Adjunct Professor and as a member of the Law College Association Board of Directors. In 2004, the University of Arizona Alumni Association recognized Dev with the Outstanding Young Alumni Award.

Dev is active in many professional and legal organizations. He is member of the Arizona Trial Lawyers Association Board of Directors and President of the Arizona Minority Bar Association. Dev frequently volunteers his time to serve as a faculty member teaching continuing legal education courses.
Dev is married to Olivia and they have two young children.

Areas of Practice

  • Products Liability
  • Medical Malpractice
  • Premises Liability
  • Automobile Accidents
  • Bicycle Accidents
  • Governmental Liability
  • Elder Abuse

Litigation Percentage

  • 100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Bar Admissions

  • Nevada, 1997
  • Arizona, 1998
  • U.S. District Court District of Arizona, 1998

Education

  • University of Arizona College of Law, Tucson, Arizona, May, 1997
    J.D.
    Law Journal: Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law, Note and Comment Editor, 1995 - 1997

  • Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 1994
    A.B.
    Major: Public Policy Studies

Published Works

  • Ten Tips for Settling a Case, Arizona Attorney, September, 2007
  • Successfully Handling the Products Liability Case, The Advocate, March, 2006
  • Politics Threaten Arizona's Independent Judiciary, Inside Tucson Business, January 23, 2006
  • Liability Waivers and Releases: Worth the Paper They Are Printed On?, American Bar Association Journal for Small Firms and Solo Practices, May, 2004
  • Please Release Me: Prospective Exculpatory Covenants in Arizona, Arizona Attorney, March, 2003

Representative Cases

  • Allstate Ins. Co v. Universal Underwriters, 178. 3d 106 (Arizona Court of Appeals Division Two 2000)

Classes/Seminars Taught

  • Speaker, All India Institute of Medical Science Forum on Indians in America
  • Speaker, City Of Las Vegas Arts Council, 1998
  • State Bar of Arizona Mandatory Professionalism Course (Trial Practice and Diversity Sessions)
  • Chair, State Bar of Arizona CLE by the Sea, 2008
  • Proving the Product Defect, American Association of Justice Annual Convention 2007, 2007
  • Chair, The Curmudgeon's Guide to the Law, State Bar of Arizona Annual Convention 2007, 2007
  • Chair, Trial Practice Section Presentations, State Bar of Arizona Annual Convention
  • Chair, Civil Justice and the Power to Do Good, State Bar of Arizona Annual Convention 2005, 2005
  • Chair, Hot Issues in Trial Practice, State Bar of Arizona Annual Convention 2004
  • Winning Short Trial Strategies
  • Successful Deposition Strategies
  • Negotiating and Settling Injury Cases
  • I Know What You Did Last Summer - What Secrets Social Networking Sites Hold
  • Prosecuting and Defending UM/U1M Cases
  • Handling Automobile Accidents - A to Z
  • Topics in Complex Litigation, State Bar of Arizona CLE by the Sea
  • State Bar of Arizona 2004 Bench and Bur Roundtable
  • Advanced Legal Writing
  • Writing to Win
  • White Mountains Trial Skills Seminar, 2003
  • White Mountains Trial Skills Seminar, 2004
  • Advanced Cross-Examination and Impeachment Techniques
  • A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words - Developing and Using Visual Themes
  • Effective Representation in the Mandatory Arbitration System
  • Cross-Examination of Economic Experts in Personal Injury and Death Cases
  • Joint Tortfeasor Liability in Arizona
  • Employer Obligations for the Acts of Employees and Independent Contractors
  • Please Release Me: The Application of Liability Waivers in Arizona
  • Winning Your Case in Opening Statement
  • Medical Malpractice 101 - A Primer for Fourth Year Medical Students

Honors and Awards

  • Martindale Hubbell AV Rated
  • University of Arizona Alumni Association Distinguished Young Alumni Award, 2004
  • Inside Tucson Business "Up and Comer", 2006
  • Pima County Young Lawyers Division Outstanding Member Award, 1998 - 2003

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • Fox Theatre Foundation - Bollywood, 2004 - 2007
    Member, Fox Committee

  • Tucson Children's Museum, 2006 - Present
    Board of Directors

  • Tucson Children's Museum, 2008
    Golf Tournament Chair

  • Tucson Children's Museum, 2008
    Executive Committee

  • University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, 2001 - Present
    Adjunct Professor

  • University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, 2007 - Present
    Law College Association Board, Executive Committee

  • University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law
    Friend of the Dean

  • University of Arizona College of Fine Arts, 2005 - 2006
    Dean's Advisory Board

  • Arizona Trial Lawyers Association, 2005 - Present
    Board of Directors

  • Arizona Minority Bar Association, 2000 - 2002
    Secretary

  • Arizona Minority Bar Association, 2002 - 2003
    V.P.

  • Arizona Minority Bar Association, 2004 - 2006
    President

  • State Bar of Arizona - Consumer Information and Education Task Force, 2008

  • State Bar of Arizona - Diversity Task Force, 2006 - Present

  • State Bar of Arizona - Leadership Institute
    Board of Directors

  • State Bar of Arizona - Trial Practice Executive Council, 2002 - Present

  • State Bar of Arizona - Trial Practice Executive Council, 2007
    Chair

  • State Bar of Arizona, 2005 - Present
    Appointments Committee

  • Supreme Court of Arizona Judicial Performance Review, 2006 - Present

  • Pima County Young Lawyers Division, 1999 - 2001
    Treasurer, Board of Directors

  • Pima County Young Lawyers Division, 2002 - 2003
    Golf Tournament Chairman

  • Pima County Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Law Week, 1998 - 2000
    Chair

  • American Association of Physicians of Indian Decent (APPI) - National Pro Bono Counsel

  • Indian Association of Southern Arizona, 2001 - 2002
    Board of Directors

  • Indian Cultural Center of Tucson
    Founding Member and Trustee

  • Tucson Big Brothers Big Sisters, 1998 - 2000
    Board of Directors

  • University of Arizona Supreme Court, 1996 - 1997
    Chief Justice

Pro Bono Activities

  • Wills for Heroes, 2005 - 2007
  • Meet a Lawyer, 1998 - 2003
  • VLP Referral Panel, 1998 - Present

Languages

  • Hindi

Birth Information

  • October 22, 1972, Asheville, North Carolina, United States of America