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

Kalpana Srinivasan

tries cutting-edge cases in courtrooms across the country. She serves as Susman Godfrey’s managing partner and a member of its executive committee, leading the 150-lawyer litigation firm in its handling of high-profile matters across the nation.

A fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, Ms. Srinivasan has been described as an “engaging, exceptionally smart and approachable lawyer” and a “major force” by Chambers USA; she has been deemed a Titan of the Plaintiffs Bar by Law360; and recognized by Benchmark Litigation as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America, 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 10 Women Litigators.  The Legal 500, in its Tier 1 rankings, described her work at “the intersection of intellectual property and unfair competition, all while displaying strong know-how of the technology industry.” “She’s incredibly brilliant, but also down to earth, relatable and personable…. [S]he has great courtroom presence,” says IAM Patent 1000.

“She is a superstar lawyer. She is very smart and effective.”
Client quote from Chambers USA

Ms. Srinivasan has been repeatedly recognized as one of the leading 500 lawyers in America by Lawdragon and as an Intellectual Property MVP by Law360. The National Law Journal has recognized her as both a Winning Litigator and an Intellectual Property Trailblazer. Ms. Srinivasan also been named a Power Lawyer by The Hollywood Reporter and was featured in Lawdragon’s Plaintiff Issue.

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. Ms. Srinivasan argued the appeal of the underlying issue to the 9th Circuit in 2021.

In California, Ms. Srinivasan is considered 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 and named her a California Trailblazer.

The National Law Journal has named Ms. Srinivasan an Elite Woman of the Plaintiff’s Bar and one of the nation’s 75 Outstanding Lawyers.

Ms. Srinivasan has worked tirelessly toward advancement of diverse and female lawyers in the profession.  She is the recipient of the Cornerstone Award from the South Asian Bar Association of North America and the Gender Diversity Lawyer of the Year from Chambers for her efforts.

Ms. Srinivasan currently serves on Senator Alex Padilla’s Judicial Evaluation Commission for the Central District of California and previously served on the Judicial Nominees Evaluation Commission of the California State Bar. Ms. Srinivasan previously acted as vice-president for the Western Justice Center and held leadership roles on the executive committee of the South Asian Bar Association.  She has also taught a course on Class Actions at UCLA Law School.

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 in Super Lawyers’ 2017 profile, “From AP to IP.”

Notable Representations

“Kalpana is wonderful. She’s a natural trial lawyer and advocate, she’s exceptionally well regarded in the IP and antitrust space and is universally liked by members of the Bar.”
Client quote from Chambers USA

Intellectual Property

 

  • California Institute of Technology (Caltech) v. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (E.D. Tex.)  Lead counsel for Caltech in pursuing its seminal Wifi patents for infringement against Samsung’s mobile and other devices. Caltech previously successfully asserted the patents against Apple and the liability finding was affirmed on appeal.
  • Meta Platforms Inc. v. Octopus and Social Data Trading Ltd. (N.D. Cal.) Lead counsel for Meta in its lawsuits against companies illicitly scraping data from its platforms for sale.
  • Title Source Inc v. HouseCanary (U.S. Dist. Ct. of Bexar County, TX, 73rd Judicial District) 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. Ms. Srinivasan later argued appeal of verdict to 4th District Court of Appeal in San Antonio. This case was covered by Law360, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and Texas Lawyer. Read more.
  • Atlas Global Technologies v. Samsung (E.D. Tex.; W.D. Tex.) Prosecuted claims of patent infringement against Samsung on behalf of Atlas Global Technologies on standard essential patents used for new generation Wi-Fi devices. A confidential settlement for Atlas was secured in late 2021 shortly after the complaint was filed.
  • Pascal Metrics v. Health Catalyst (Delaware Superior Ct.) Representing healthcare analytics company, Pascal Metrics, in its case against Health Catalyst for theft of its algorithmic triggers to identify adverse health events for hospital patients.  The case is set for trial in summer of 2023.
  • WSOU/Brazos v. Cisco (W.D. Tex.) Asserting WSOU/Brazos networking patents against  Cisco. The case is set for trial in 2023.
  • Paltalk v. Cisco (W.D. Tex.) Representing video chat service Paltalk in its infringement case against Cisco’s Webex offerings. The case is set for trial in 2023.
  • Arendi SARL v. Apple, Google (Fed. Circ.) Representing Arendi in multiple cases alleging its patented information handling and linking technology is being infringed. A pending case against Apple was resolved during the parties’ summary judgment hearing with Apple taking a license to the patents for a confidential sum. A case against Google is set for trial in 2023.
  • Sol IP v. AT&T, Sprint, & Verizon (E.D. Tex.) Served as co-lead counsel to Sol IP in actions 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.
  • Finjan v. Bitdefender (N.D. Cal.) Defended cyber-security provider Bitdefender against claims of patent infringement by Finjan.  The case resolved shortly before trial.
  • Jawbone v. Fitbit (International Trade Commission, N.D. Cal.) Served as co-lead counsel for Jawbone in various patent infringement and trade secret cases in the ITC and district courts involving wearable devices against competitor Fitbit. The cases resolved in a global confidential settlement.
  • GPNE v. Apple (N.D. Cal.) 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 (E.D. Tex.) 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.
Entertainment, Media, & Gaming
  • WSOU Investments, LLC d/b/a Brazos Licensing and Development v. Microsoft (W.D. Tex.) Represented WSOU/Brazos in asserting patents formerly owned by Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent against Microsoft, including as to Microsoft’s Xbox, Hololens and Skype offerings.  Microsoft settled shortly before three trials were set to commence.
  • Universal Cable Productions LLC et al. v. Atlantic Specialty Insurance Co. (C.D. Cal.) Served as lead trial counsel for NBC Universal subsidiary, UCP, 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 before the court. 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 (C.D. Cal.) Serving 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.
  • ZiiLabs v. Samsung (E.D. Tex.) 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.
  • PalTalk v. Sony and Activision (E.D. Tex.) 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 (E.D. Tex.) Prosecuted PalTalk’s patent claims against Microsoft Corporation for its Xbox video game offerings, culminating in a 2009 jury trial in 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. Read more.
Antitrust
  • In re Telescopes (N.D. Cal.) Serving as interim co-lead counsel representing a putative class of indirect purchasers of amateur telescopes impacted by a conspiracy to fix prices and allocate markets for telescopes sold to consumers in the United States.
  • In re Qualcomm (N.D. Cal.) Personally appointed by the Court as co-lead counsel in this multi-district litigation on behalf of purchasers impacted by Qualcomm’s anti-competitive conduct.
  • In re Lithium Batteries (N.D. Cal.) Serves on the executive committee representing consumers impacted by price-fixing conduct in the market for lithium ion batteries.
Class Actions
  • Flo & Eddie v. Sirius XM/Pandora (C.D. Cal.) Serve as co-lead counsel representing Flo & Eddie (the founding members of 60’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 and 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.  Ms. Srinivasan argued the appeal of the underlying issue in the Sirius XM cases before the Ninth Circuit in 2021.
  • Melissa Ferrick et al v. Spotify USA Inc. et al (S.D.N.Y.) 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. Read more.
  • Bernstein et al v. Cengage (S.D.N.Y.) Serving 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.
  • Johnston v. Rawlings (Kentucky State Ct.) 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, 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.
  • Wage and Hour Class Action Trial (Minnesota St. Ct.) Tried to verdict a three-month wage and hour class action representing the nation’s largest retailers.  At trial, Ms. Srinivasan conducted the direct and cross examinations of more than a dozen witnesses
Professional Associations and Memberships
  • Fellow, International Academy of Trial Lawyers, invitation only legal association that limits Fellowship to 500 active trial lawyers from the United States. Trial lawyers become Fellows only after an extremely rigorous vetting process, which includes both peer and judicial review.
  • Member, Senator Alex Padilla’s Judicial Evaluation Commission for the Central District of California
  • Former Commissioner, Judicial Nominees Evaluation Commission of the California State Bar, which vets the governor’s potential judicial candidates
  • Former Vice-President, Western Justice Center, an organization of judges, lawyers and civic leaders that promote conflict resolution skills among youth, educators, schools, and community partners
  • Former Board Member, California ChangeLawyers, which aims to promote access to justice for underrepresented communities in California
  • Executive Board Member, South Asian Bar Association of North America and of Southern California
  • Fellow, American Bar Foundation
  • Member, Litigation Counsel of America 
Honors and Distinctions
Benchmark Litigation (Euromoney)
Best Lawyers in America (Woodward White Inc.)
  • Recommended Lawyer, Commercial Litigation (2021, 2022, 2023)
Corporate Counsel
Chambers
Daily Journal
  • Leading Commercial Litigator (2023)
  • Top Intellectual Property Lawyer in California (2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
  • Top Woman Lawyer in California (2017, 2018)
  • Top 100 Lawyers in California (2017)
  • California Lawyer of the Year (2017). Click here for a photo of Ms. Srinivasan, along with co-counsel, receiving the award.
  • California’s Top 20 Lawyers Under the Age of 40 (2014)
Law360
Lawdragon
Legal 500 (Legalease Ltd.)
  • Recommended Lawyer, Antitrust: Civil Litigation and Class Actions by The Legal 500 (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022) and Dispute Resolution: General Commercial Disputes (2020, 2021, 2022)
Los Angeles Business Journal
Managing Intellectual Property – IP Stars (Euromoney)
National Law Journal (ALM)
  • Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Trailblazers (2020)
  • Elite Woman of the Plaintiffs Bar (2018, 2019, 2020)
  • Winning Litigator (2019)
  • Intellectual Property Trailblazer (2018)
  • Outstanding Women Lawyers (2015)
The Recorder (ALM)
  • Women Leaders in Tech Law (2022, 2018, 2017, 2016). Click here for a picture of Ms. Srinivasan at the 2018 honoree event.
  • California Trailblazer (2019)
Super Lawyers – California Law & Politics  (Thomson Reuters)
  • Super Lawyer – an honor awarded to the top 5% of lawyers in the Southern California area. (2016-2022)
  •  Southern California’s Women Super Lawyers (2017, 2022)
Other
  • Recipient of the Cornerstone Award, South Asian Bar Association of North America (2018)
  • Power Lawyer, The Hollywood Reporter (2017)
  • Trailblazer, South Asian Bar Association of Southern California (2017). Click here for a photo of Ms. Srinivasan accepting her award.
  • Best Lawyers Under 40, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (2014)
  • Woman of Achievement, the Century City Chamber of Commerce (2019)
Articles and Speeches
Articles
Prior Speaking Engagements
Podcasts