Overview
Kalpana Srinivasan tries cutting-edge cases in courtrooms across the country. She serves as Susman Godfrey’s fourth managing partner in the firm’s 45- year history and a member of its executive committee, helping lead the 200-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,” “a strong tactical leader,” and “strategic, creative and compelling” as first-chair trial lawyer 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.
Ms. Srinivasan was recognized as Attorney of the Year in 2024 by The Recorder, has been repeatedly recognized as one of the leading 500 lawyers in America by Lawdragon, and has been named 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.
“She is just on fire.”
Client quote from Chambers USA
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 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 on behalf of diverse and female lawyers in the legal profession.
Ms. Srinivasan sits on the advisory forum of Stanford Law School’s Rhode Center on the Legal Profession to make civil justice more equitable, accessible, and transparent. She 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.”
