Attorneys

David Seely joined Fleeson, Gooing, Coulson & Kitch, L.L.C. in 1984 after serving for two years (1982-84) as a law clerk to Hon. Earl E. O’Connor, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas.  Mr. Seely regards this as a unique learning experience that has been invaluable to his work in litigation.

Mr. Seely’s practice has focused on civil litigation. While much of this work in recent years has involved complex litigation and class actions involving oil and gas, Mr. Seely has also handled litigation in state and federal courts on behalf of a variety of individual and institutional clients spanning a wide range of practice areas including RICO, business litigation, civil rights, employment, insurance defense, personal injury and church issues.  He is recognized in the publication The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Oil & Gas Law and Labor and Employment Law, and as a Missouri/Kansas Super Lawyer in the area of civil litigation defense.  He currently chair the firm’s Litigation Practice Group.

Mr. Seely recently completed six years of service on the Kansas Continuing Legal Education Commission including Chairperson of the Commission.  He also served on a committee to review standardization of judicial procedures and forms in the federal court in Kansas.  He has previously served by appointment as a member of the Tenth Circuit Advisory Committee (2007-2008), the Bench-Bar Committee of the U.S. District Court (1999-2002) and of the Civil Justice Reform Act Advisory Group for the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas (1997-99).

Mr. Seely is a co-author of Federal Practice Handbook for the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas (1997), and of Comparison of Federal and State Court Practices, 75 KBA Journal 28 (April 2006).  He has also presented at various seminars regarding federal practice and procedure.

Mr. Seely’s litigation matters have resulted in a variety of published decisions, including:

• Farrar v. Mobil Oil Corp., 43 Kan. App. 2d 871, 284 P.3d 19, review denied, 2010 Kan. LEXIS 849 (2010)
• Plains Petroleum Co. v. First Nat. Bank of Lamar, 274 Kan. 74, 49 P.3d 432 (2002)
• Kimes v. Unified School Dist. No. 480, 934 F.Supp. 1275 (D. Kan. 1996)
• Wilson v. Meeks, 52 F.3d 1547 (10th Cir. 1995)
• Schrag v. Dinges, 825 F. Supp. 954 (D. Kan. 1993)
• Greene v. Product Manufacturing Corporation, 842 F. Supp. 1321 (D. Kan. 1993)
• St. Francis Regional Medical Center, Inc. v. Weiss, 254 Kan. 728, 869 P. 2d 606 (1993)
• Tucker v. Hugoton Energy Corp., 253 Kan. 373, 855 P. 2d 929 (1993)
• Blue v. McBride, 252 Kan. 894, 850 P. 2d 852 (1993)
• Phelps v. Wichita Eagle-Beacon, 886 F. 2d 1262 (10th Cir. 1989)

Mr. Seely is an active member of the Wichita Bar Association and has served as an officer, committee member, and committee chairperson. He is also a member of the Kansas Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the Kansas Association of Defense Counsel.  He recently completed a term as president of the Wesley E. Brown Inn of Court.

Since 2006, Mr. Seely has served as General Counsel to the Eastern Kansas Royalty Owners Association.  He also served on the U.S.D. 259 Bond Oversight Committee, which oversaw completion of a $284 million school bond issue for renovation and new construction.

Mr. Seely and his family are active members of First United Methodist Church in Wichita. Since 1998, he has served as Chancellor of the Kansas West Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.