"I always appreciate the opportunity to take on and solve a good legal puzzle. Labor and employment litigation usually offers an appealing intersection of intellectual challenges, human behavior, and conditioning components. Juries seem to appreciate my lively narratives and the way I break down even the most complex cases into simple, clear, yet compelling arguments that make it easy for them to understand my clients’ perspectives."

Practice Overview

Defending employers in a wide range of employment disputes, Setara Ozan-Foster advocates for clients in workplace discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims in state and federal courts nationwide. Setara previously handled insurance litigation and brings a wealth of courtroom experience to her current practice. In addition, she’s well-versed in reviewing transactional documents such as contracts.

As well as guiding companies through trials and settlements, Setara provides salient counsel on preventative policies and procedures that foster healthy employer-employee relationships. She also strategizes to protect clients from spurious claims prior to them taking adverse actions against substandard workers. With a penchant for investigating allegations, Setara finds it satisfying to call out claimants who make falsehoods and exaggerations.

Always looking to prevent problems from arising—particularly in the era of Black Lives Matter, the Me Too movement, and other social awareness campaigns—Setara instructs people on the ways implicit bias and micro-aggression can appear in the workplace and how they can be stopped. As a Black woman who has faced bias and prejudice herself both inside and outside of the industry, Setara possesses an acute understanding of what constitutes true discrimination (as opposed to behavior that may be unpleasant and aggravating, but not illegal).

In the courtroom, Setara brings a confident and steady manner. She couples her unflappable approach with a strong storytelling ability and dynamic presentations that educate and persuade juries through analogies, tone, movement, and eye-catching videos, graphics, and visual presentations. Setara’s substantial instructional experience also hones her ability to think on her feet and keep audiences engaged. She teaches at Samford University Cumberland School of Law and has also coached a top-ten national trial team, both of which enhance her ability to serve clients.