Kira Barrett

Full Profile

Kira Barrett is an experienced litigator representing clients in commercial, transportation and professional liability matters.

Kira’s transportation practice includes representing motor carriers, logistics companies, freight brokers, third-party logistics providers, commercial truck drivers and their insurers.  She has acted as lead counsel in numerous high value cases involving catastrophic injury and wrongful death.

In her professional liability practice, Kira defends attorneys and law firms in malpractice and professional liability actions.  She has acted as lead counsel in state, federal and appellate court actions involving multi-plaintiff, complex and significant exposure claims.

Kira’s broader commercial litigation experience includes representing public and private companies in shareholder disputes, trade secret matters, and contract litigation. 

Kira has been recognized by multiple respected US legal publications as a highly skilled litigator and influential practitioner in the areas of transportation and commercial litigation. She has also been recognized in local publications as a top 100 attorney in Arizona.  Kira has lectured at conferences and in client-facing settings on a variety of topics, including witness preparation, defending against Reptile Theory, defending traumatic brain injury, social inflation and procedural considerations in litigated matters.  She also routinely publishes thought content on emerging risk topics including anxiety and emotional distress claims, hellhole jurisdictions, implications on the industry resulting from Supreme Court rulings and the impact of advancing neurotech.

Admissions

• Arizona
• US District Court for the District of Arizona
• US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• US District Court for the District of New Mexico

Education

• J.D., University of St. Thomas School of Law, 2012. Dean’s List.
• B.A., Jamestown College, 2009. Dean’s List.

Memberships

• Arizona Association of Defense Counsel
• Arizona Women Lawyers Association
• Trucking Insurance Defense Association
• Professional Liability Underwriters Society
• Professional Liability Defense Federation

Experience

Trucking/Transportation

• Helped secure a complete defense verdict in a USD 20 million catastrophic injury case by serving as appellate monitoring counsel and ensuring effective trial strategy and preservation of key appellate issues.
• Obtained voluntary dismissal with prejudice of claims against a broker and its indemnitees in a wrongful death action by successfully leveraging plaintiffs’ contractual indemnity obligations arising from a prior settlement with the at fault trucking company, including a hold harmless provision tied to a policy-limits payout, and a strategic tender of defense.
• Eliminated all exposure for a motor carrier and driver in a fatality case by securing a complete walkaway resolution after establishing through pre-litigation accident reconstruction that the driver was not at fault.
• Reduced multi-million dollar exposure to USD 350 thousand in a catastrophic trucking injury case involving PTSD, burn injuries, and disfigurement.

Commercial Litigation

• Represented a publicly traded medical software company in shareholder litigation seeking injunctive relief concerning an appointed note agent. Successfully defeated plaintiffs’ motion to appoint a receiver and negotiated a favorable resolution for the company.
• Prevented misappropriation of trade secrets and client relationships by securing a preliminary injunction against former executives, leading to a favorable settlement for a publicly traded client.
• Recovered outstanding loan balances for a life insurance client by securing a stipulated judgment requiring full repayment.
• Achieved a favorable exit for minority shareholders by negotiating a buyout in complex derivative and fiduciary duty litigation involving alleged misuse of company funds.
• Enforced franchise agreement rights for a major national tax preparation corporation by securing a stipulated judgment against former franchisees for post-termination breaches.
• Achieved full recovery for an investment firm by securing a default judgment and complete attorneys’ fees award in contract and fraud litigation.
• Recovered 100% of invested capital plus all interest in a contested home renovation investment dispute.

Professional Liability

• Secured dismissal of all claims on motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s claims of violation of constitutional rights, violation of protective order, and malicious prosecution against a guardian ad litem.
• Eliminated all liability for a clinical psychologist by securing dismissal of emotional distress claims through a motion to dismiss.
• Eliminated all exposure in a constitutional tort case by securing dismissal with prejudice—later affirmed by the Ninth Circuit—on behalf of a clinical psychologist facing 14th Amendment familial association claims.
• Reduced a USD 9 million legal malpractice exposure to a USD 375 thousand settlement while defending a law firm and attorney in claims arising from a dismissed derivative action.
• Reduced a USD 4.2 million legal malpractice exposure to a USD 410 thousand settlement while defending a law firm and attorney in claims alleging malicious prosecution arising out of an underlying malpractice action.
• Represented an attorney and law firm in a complex malpractice action brought by 30 individuals alleging claims arising from an underlying class action involving exposure to toxic substances. Successfully negotiated a favorable settlement in the amount of USD 800 thousand despite plaintiffs having obtained stipulated judgments totaling USD 6 million.
• Reduced exposure by over USD 1 million in multi-claim HOA litigation by negotiating a favorable settlement on appeal as appellate monitoring and appellate counsel.

Presentations

• Co-Presenter, "How to Avoid Cognitive Fallacies that can Cripple Your Witness," CLE in the Red Rocks: An Advanced Personal Injury Conference, Sedona, Arizona, March 2025
• Presenter, “Failure to Comply: Aviation Legal Topics,” Arizona Airports Association (AzAA), 2019 Spring Conference