Kalpana Srinivasan
Managing Partner
Los Angeles Office Phone: (310) 789-3106 Email Download vCard Print Bio to PDF
Education
  • Yale University, B.A. (cum laude), Comparative Literature/Ethics, Politics & Economics
  • Stanford University, J.D. (with distinction)
    • Winner Marion Rice Kirkwood Moot Court Competition
    • Editor, Stanford Law Review
Judicial Clerkship

Judge Raymond C. Fisher, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Kalpana Srinivasan
Managing Partner
Lawdragon profile

Ms. Srinivasan tries high-stakes cases for plaintiffs and defendants in courtrooms across the country. Susman Godfrey’s co-managing partner and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, she has secured significant victories for her clients in antitrust, patent, trade secret, copyright, class action, media and other disputes.


Ms. Srinivasan’s recent representations include serving as lead trial counsel to Universal Cable Productions—a subsidiary of NBC Universal—in its insurance coverage dispute over costs to relocate its TV show “Dig” out of Jerusalem; acting as Court-appointed co-lead counsel for a certified class of hundreds of millions of consumers impacted by Qualcomm’s anticompetitive conduct in mobile chipset sales; securing court approval for a class action settlement valued at over $100 million with music streaming service, Spotify; and prosecuting telecommunications patents against the major wireless carriers.

Ms. Srinivasan won a $706.2 million jury verdict for client HouseCanary in a misappropriation of trade secret, fraud and breach of contract case. Ms. Srinivasan argued the appeal of the jury verdict in February 2020.  Read more on the HouseCanary trial – deemed by Benchmark Litigation an Impact Case of the Year – here or as featured in Lawdragon’s  story, “Revenge of the Hatchlings: How Susman Godfrey Won Almost a Billion Dollars for HouseCanary” or in Law360‘s “How They Won It” series. Hear Ms. Srinivasan discuss this landmark case on The Great Trials Podcast.

Ms. Srinivasan has been described as an “engaging, exceptionally smart and approachable lawyer” by Chambers USA; deemed a Titan of the Plaintiffs Bar by Law360; and recognized by Benchmark Litigation as its California Intellectual Property Litigation Attorney of the Year, Plaintiff Attorney of the Year, Trial Lawyer of the Year in California and one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America as well as one of the Top 10 Women Litigators.  The Legal 500, in its Tier 1 rankings, described her work at “the intersection of intellectual property and unfair competition, all the while displaying strong know-how of the technology industry.” She was also featured in Lawdragon’s Plaintiff Issue.

Ms. Srinivasan has been deemed one of the leading 500 lawyers in America by Lawdragon and a Winning Litigator by the National Law Journal (ALM).  Law360 has called Ms. Srinivasan an Intellectual Property MVP  and the National Law Journal (ALM) recognized her as an Intellectual Property Trailblazer. Ms. Srinivasan has been named a Power Lawyer by The Hollywood Reporter.

Ms. Srinivasan and her co-counsel received a California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year (CLAY) award for their work in Flo & Eddie Inc. v. Sirius XM Radio Inc., a copyright class action involving pre-1972 sound recordings.

In California, Ms. Srinivasan also has been recognized as one of the state’s Top 100 Lawyers and repeatedly as one of its Top IP Lawyers  and Top Women Lawyers by the Daily Journal.  The Recorder has included her among the Women Leaders in Tech Law.  She also been named a California Trailblazer by The Recorder (ALM).

She has received the Cornerstone Award from the South Asian Bar Association of North America and been recognized as a Trailblazer by The South Asian Bar Association of Southern California for her dedication to furthering the professional development of the South Asian legal community. The National Law Journal (ALM) has named Ms. Srinivasan an Elite Woman of the Plaintiff’s Bar and called Ms. Srinivasan one of the nation’s 75 Outstanding Women Lawyers.  Ms. Srinivasan’s many significant class action and intellectual property achievements helped secure Susman Godfrey’s recognition as Law360’s Class Action Group of the Year in 2018 and Intellectual Property Group of the Year in 2019.

Ms. Srinivasan previously served on the Judicial Nominees Evaluation Commission of the California State Bar, which vets the governor’s potential judicial candidates. She has taught a course on Class Actions at UCLA Law School.  Ms. Srinivasan serves as vice-president for the Western Justice Center and has previously served on the executive committee of the South Asian Bar Association of North America.   Before becoming a lawyer, Ms. Srinivasan reported for The Associated Press in Washington D.C., covering national media and telecommunications policy.  Read about her prior career here. “From AP to IP” (Super Lawyers, 2017, Thomson Reuters).

Notable Representations

Intellectual Property and Media

  • Title Source Inc v. HouseCanary: Serving as co-lead counsel, Ms. Srinivasan secured a landmark jury verdict of $706.2 million for real estate analytics company HouseCanary in a misappropriation of trade secret, fraud and breach of contract case against Title Source Inc.  At the conclusion of the seven-week trial, a 12-person jury found unanimously in favor of HouseCanary. This case was covered by Law360, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and Texas Lawyer. Read more about it here.
  • Sol IP v. AT&T, Sprint, & Verizon: Ms. Srinivasan served as co-lead counsel to Sol IP in an action asserting key LTE and Wifi patents against the major telecommunications carriers Sprint, AT&T and Verizon.  The case resolved against all defendants the month before trial.
  • Universal Cable Productions LLC et al. v. Atlantic Specialty Insurance Co. Srinivasan served as lead trial counsel for UCP —a subsidiary of NBC Universal—in its dispute with insurance carrier, Atlantic, over the cost to relocate filming the TV miniseries “Dig” out of Jerusalem due to bombing by Hamas. UCP received a full win on liability. The case settled the day before Ms. Srinivasan was set to give opening arguments on a trial for bad faith and damages.
  •  Intellectual Pixels Limited v. Sony Interactive Entertainment: Ms Srinivasan serves as lead counsel representing Intellectual Pixels Limited (IPL) in a patent infringement action against Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) related to IPL’s video game streaming patents.
  • Finjan v. Bitdefender: Ms. Srinivasan defended cyber-security provider Bitdefender against claims of patent infringement by Finjan in the Northern District of California.  The case resolved shortly before trial.
  • Jawbone v. Fitbit:  Ms. Srinivasan served as co-lead counsel for Jawbone in various patent infringement and trade secret cases involving wearable devices against competitor Fitbit in the International Trade Commission and the Northern District of California.
  • ZiiLabs v. Samsung: Ms. Srinivasan represented ZiiLabs, a subsidiary of the Singapore-based media company Creative Technologies Ltd.  Ziilabs brought claims for patent infringement of its patents related to graphics processing technology developed originally by 3DLabs.  The case settled on the eve of trial after Apple had taken a license.
  • GPNE v. Apple: Ms. Srinivasan represented telecommunications company GPNE in its patent infringement case against Apple’s iPhones and iPads.  A jury found GPNE’s patents valid but not infringed.  Ms. Srinivasan delivered opening arguments as described here.
  • MicroUnity v. Apple:  Ms. Srinivasan represented MicroUnity Systems Engineering, Inc., one of the leading innovators in the microprocessor industry, in its patent infringement lawsuit against Apple, Samsung and major players in the smartphone and tablet industry.  The claims arose from infringement of patents covering “mediaprocessor” technology.  The case settled with the last of the defendants taking licenses just shortly before trial.
  • PalTalk v. Sony and Activision:  Ms. Srinivasan represented PalTalk Holdings, Inc., the nation’s premiere Internet video chat community, in its patent infringement lawsuit against Sony’s World of Warcraft, Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty and other video game offerings.  The case settled before trial after PalTalk received a favorable Markman ruling.
  • PalTalk v. Microsoft:  Ms. Srinivasan prosecuted PalTalk’s patent claims against Microsoft Corporation for its Xbox video game offerings, culminating in a March 2009 jury trial in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The parties settled on the fourth day of trial – following Ms. Srinivasan’s cross-examination of Microsoft’s first witness. For more about the case, click here.

Class Actions

  • In re Qualcomm: Ms. Srinivasan was appointed by the Court as co-lead counsel in this multi-district litigation on behalf of purchasers impacted by Qualcomm’s anti-competitive conduct.  The Court granted class certification in a 66-page order finding “substantial,” “strong” and “compelling” evidence to support the certification.  The certification order currently is subject to an interlocutory appeal at the Ninth Circuit.
  • Melissa Ferrick et al v. Spotify USA Inc. et al: Ms. Srinivasan, along with co-lead counsel from Gradstein & Marzano, secured a deal worth over $100 million to settle a class-action lawsuit with music streaming service, Spotify, brought on behalf of music copyright owners. Click here for more. The court granted final approval in early 2018 and distribution to class members was made in 2020.
  • Bernstein et al  v. Cengage: Ms. Srinivasan serves as lead counsel representing authors of higher education textbooks for failure to pay royalties owed on their contracts when those texts were offered on the company’s online platforms.
  • Flo & Eddie v. Sirius XM/Pandora:  Ms. Srinivasan serves as co-lead counsel representing Flo & Eddie (the founding members of 70’s music group, The Turtles) along with a class of owners of pre-1972 sound recordings for copyright violations by music provider Sirius XM.   Flo & Eddie settled with Sirius XM in a deal worth up to $73 million and approved by the Court in May 2017, Ms. Srinivasan and her co-leads were named “California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year” by The Daily Journal for their legal work on this case.  Flo & Eddie have a similar putative class action pending against Pandora.
  • In re Lithium Batteries: Ms. Srinivasan and a team of Susman Godfrey lawyers serve on the executive committee representing consumers impacted by price-fixing conduct in the market for lithium ion batteries.
  • Johnston v. Rawlings:  Ms. Srinivasan won a defense-side jury verdict on behalf of The Rawlings Company in a certified class action challenging the company’s classification of its employees.  During the three-week jury trial in Kentucky state court, Ms. Srinivasan conducted the examination of company executives and expert witnesses and cross-examined a class representative.  The jury verdict was featured in the American Lawyer. For more about the case, click here.
  • December 2007:  Ms. Srinivasan and a team of Susman Godfrey lawyers litigated to verdict a three-month wage and hour class action representing the nation’s largest retailers in Minnesota state court.  At trial, Ms. Srinivasan conducted the direct and cross examinations of more than a dozen witnesses.
Professional Associations and Memberships
  • Ms. Srinivasan serves as vice-president of the Western Justice Center, an organization of judges, lawyers and civic leaders that promote conflict resolution skills among youth, educators, schools, and community partners.
  • Ms. Srinivasan sits on the board of California ChangeLawyers, which aims to promote access to justice for underrepresented communities in California.
  • Ms. Srinivasan is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
  • Ms. Srinivasan is a member of the Litigation Counsel of America.
  • Ms. Srinivasan previously served on the Judicial Nominees Evaluation Commission of the California State Bar, which vets the governor’s potential judicial candidates.
  • Ms. Srinivasan previously served on the executive boards of the South Asian Bar Association of North America and of Southern California.
Honors and Distinctions

Top 10 Women in Litigation by Benchmark Litigation (2020)

Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Trailblazers by the National Law Journal (ALM, 2020)

Chambers Leading Practitioner in California for Litigation: General Commercial and Antitrust: Mainly Plaintiff (2020)

Benchmark Litigation’s California Intellectual Property Litigation Attorney of the Year, Plaintiff Attorney of the Year, and Trial Lawyer of the Year (2020)

500 Leading Lawyers in America by Lawdragon (2020, 2019)

500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers by Lawdragon (2020,2019)

Top Minority Attorney in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Business Journal (2020)

Top Intellectual Property Lawyer in California by the Daily Journal (2020, 2019, 2017)

Elite Woman of the Plaintiffs Bar by National Law Journal (ALM, 2020, 2019, 2018)

Benchmark Litigation’s Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America (Euromoney, 2020)

Recommended Lawyer, Antitrust: Civil Litigation and Class Actions by The Legal 500 (2019, 2020) and Dispute Resolution: General Commercial Disputes (2020, Legalease Ltd.)

Woman of Achievement by the Century City Chamber of Commerce (2019).  Click here to see photos from the event.

Winning Litigator by the National Law Journal (ALM, 2019)

California Trailblazer by The Recorder (ALM, 2019)

Gender Diversity Lawyer of the Year by Chambers USA (2019)

Titan of the Plaintiffs Bar by Law360 (2019)

Patent Star in California by Managing Intellectual Property IP STARS (Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC, 2020, 2019)

Intellectual Property MVP by Law360 (2018)

Women Leaders in Tech Law by The Recorder (2018, 2017, 2016). Click here for a picture of Ms. Srinivasan at the 2018 honoree event.

Los Angeles Business Journal’s Leaders in Law Awards (2019, 2018)

Recipient of the Cornerstone Award by the South Asian Bar Association of North America (2018). Click here to see photos from the event.

Top Woman Lawyer in California by the Daily Journal (2018, 2017)

Intellectual Property Trailblazer by the National Law Journal (2018)

Profiled by Super Lawyers in the article, “From AP to IP: The Skills Kalpana Srinivasan Learned as a Reporter Help with High Stakes Litigation” (2018)

Top 100 Lawyers in California by the Daily Journal (2017)

Power Lawyer by The Hollywood Reporter (2017)

California Lawyer of the Year by the Daily Journal  (2017). Click here for a photo of Ms. Srinivasan, along with co-counsel, receiving the award.

Trailblazer by the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California (2017). Click here for a photo of Ms. Srinivasan accepting her award.

Outstanding Women Lawyers by the National Law Journal (2015)

Powerbroker by Law360

California’s Top 20 Lawyers Under the Age of 40 by the Daily Journal (2014)

Best Lawyers Under 40 by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) (2014)

Super Lawyer’s Southern California’s Women Super Lawyers by California Law & Politics magazine (2017)

Super Lawyer  by California Law & Politics magazine (Thomson Reuters) – an honor awarded to the top 5% of lawyers in the Southern California area. (2016-2019)

Articles and Speeches

Articles

Prior Speaking Engagements