Patent Chair
Member of Intellectual Property, Corporate and Litigation, Arbitration and Mediation practice groups
“High-stakes IP disputes shouldn’t come at the cost of control—or your company’s momentum.”
Padmaja represents med-tech innovators, pharmaceutical leaders, and technology companies in patent and trade secret litigation across the U.S. – cases where innovation and business continuity are on the line. She has obtained significant victories in claim constructions, summary judgment, TROs, pre-trial, and §101 motions to dismiss for her clients.
Her clients often call her when:
- A product launch faces delay under the weight of a patent fight;
- A critical trade secret is at risk of walking out the door;
- Investors question whether IP is strong enough to back growth;
- When there’s fear about a potential dispute escalating; or
- Big Law spend is spiraling and boards demand clarity.
Her approach is shaped by two decades across Big Law boardrooms, in-house leadership, and entrepreneurial practice. A good litigator doesn’t just know how to win in court – they know what winning means for the business. For Padmaja’s clients, that means victories that protect momentum, budgets, and market position – not pyrrhic wins.
Clients value that she delivers:
- Big Law rigor without Big Law waste. Trained at the country’s top IP firm, she delivers precision with a lean, partner-led team – so strategy translates seamlessly into execution.
- Business-first litigation strategies. Every move is aligned with commercial goals, timelines, and optics. No black box – just board-ready clarity that keeps clients in control.
- Negotiation that changes outcomes. From substantially cutting litigation costs to unlocking tens of millions in value, she knows when leverage and creativity deliver more than brute force.
- Technical fluency as a strategic edge. With a scientific background and decades of IP experience, she turns complexity into clarity – and clarity into results.
Experience that shapes her perspective:
- Big Law foundation at Fish & Neave (later Ropes & Gray), one of the premier IP firms in the U.S.
- In-house insight as Senior Counsel at Teva Pharmaceuticals, the world’s largest generic drug company.
- Entrepreneurial perspective as co-founder of a successful IP boutique.
This breadth of experience gives her an uncommon ability to align courtroom strategy with business imperatives – delivering outcomes where it matters most.
Recognitions & Leadership: Nationally recognized as one of Law360’s Voices of the Bar, a New York Super Lawyer, and a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America (by invitation). She is the immediate past-Chair of the National IP Section of the Federal Bar Association (FBA) and immediate past-President of the FBA’s Southern District of New York Chapter.
Additional Information: Before practicing law, she trained and worked as an optometrist and later served as a marketing executive at Bausch & Lomb – experience that gives her rare fluency in both the science behind innovation and the commercial realities of scaling it. She went on to earn her LL.M. at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she was elected President of the LL.M. Association.
Padmaja is admitted to practice in New York, the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Honors:
Recognized as one of 50 IP experts in the US by Law360’s Voices of the Bar
New York Super Lawyer (since 2016)
Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America (a trial lawyer honorary society composed of less than 0.5% of American lawyers. The Fellowship is highly selective and invitation-only).
Links
Dunnington Welcomes Padmaja Chinta as a Partner
“Managing Patent Cases to Keep Them From Overtaking Your Docket”: Panelist at FBA Annual Convention, September 2024
A Panel of Expert Attorneys: Padmaja Chinta Speaks at an Indian Fine Arts Society Panel, August 2024
“Patent Practitioner 2.0: USPTO Introduces New Design Patent Bar”
Padmaja Chinta, The Mother Court, January 2024
Padmaja Chinta Elected as President of the Federal Bar Association, Southern District of New York (2), October 2023
Padmaja Chinta Recognized With a Special Award for Extraordinary Service by FBA-SDNY, 2021
Padmaja Chinta Appointed Chief Diversity Officer by FBA-SDNY, 2020
“Sacha Baron Cohen Pranked Me, Can I Sue? Yes. Win? Not So Much.”
Padmaja Chinta quoted in The New York Times, August 2018
