Professional Experience

Smitha’s practice primarily involves civil litigation. Prior to joining Helsell Fetterman, Smitha worked in defense litigation, representing clients in a range of industries. She has helped defend domestic and international manufacturers in complex products liability litigation and has taken commercial litigation matters to trial. She has also worked with plaintiffs in employment litigation.

Before litigation, Smitha worked in public policy. After obtaining her Bachelor’s Degree from University of California, Berkeley in Public Health, she worked to champion youth-centered policies at the local, state, and federal levels. She continued to work in public policy while obtaining her J.D. at the University of Washington, counseling large hospitals on regulatory compliance through the Northwest Justice Project’s Medical Legal Partnership. She also drafted legislation on biometric privacy protections and published scholarship on genetic technology sharing for infectious disease response. As Editor-in-Chief of the Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts, she worked to make legal scholarship on technology, arts, and intellectual property more accessible to members of the public.

She is passionate about leveraging her policy background to engage and educate clients through the course of representation, and believes it is important to tap into clients’ lived and technical experience to advocate for them effectively. Outside of the practice of law, Smitha serves on the Board of the South Asian Bar Association of Washington. She enjoys cooking, swimming, and reading science fiction.

Professional Affiliations

  • South Asian Bar Association of Washington
  • Washington State Bar Association
  • King County Bar Association

Admitted to Practice

  • Washington State

Publications

Content by Smitha Gundavajhala