The United States District Court for the Northern District of California is pleased to announce that Ajay S. Krishnan has begun service as a Magistrate Judge, succeeding Chief Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu upon her retirement.
Judge Krishnan joins the court from Keker, Van Nest & Peters, LLP, where he practiced for twenty years and served as a partner for the past fifteen. During his tenure, he tried more than a dozen cases and handled a broad range of matters, including intellectual property disputes—spanning patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret litigation—as well as general commercial matters such as contract disputes, business torts, securities cases, and class actions. He has litigated in both federal and state courts, before administrative agencies, and in arbitration, representing plaintiffs and defendants in roughly equal measure.
Judge Krishnan also maintained a vigorous pro bono practice throughout his career, representing clients in both individual and impact civil rights cases. Before joining Keker, Van Nest & Peters, LLP, he served as a Staff Attorney with the ACLU of Northern California and volunteered as a prosecutor in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, where he prosecuted misdemeanor cases.
Judge Krishnan served on the Northern District of California’s Patent Local Rules Committee. He was also a member of the American Law Institute.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, magna cum laude, from Rice University—where he specialized in bioengineering and computer engineering—and received his law degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School. Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable Marsha Berzon on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
The court warmly welcomes Magistrate Judge Krishnan and looks forward to his contributions to the court’s mission of delivering fair and efficient justice to litigants in the Oakland Division.
To view Magistrate Judge Krishnan's court information, please click here.