Nishith Desai Associates has added Dr. Chintan Vaishnav and Ritika Patni to their International Leadership Team.
Nishith Desai Associates (NDA), a leading global law firm, has announced the addition of two senior members to its leadership team. Dr. Chintan Vaishnav and Ritika Patni will be contributing to the firm's expanding US operations.
Dr. Chintan Vaishnav, based in Boston, will serve as a futurist and techno-policy strategist at NDA. With a unique blend of deep technical expertise and public policy insight, Dr. Vaishnav brings experience as the former Mission Director of the Atal Innovation Mission at NITI Aayog and the chair of the Startup20 Engagement Group during India's G20 Presidency. He holds a PhD from MIT and will focus on strategic initiatives in boardroom advisory and cross-border strategy, with a particular emphasis on technology, healthcare, and professional services clients at NDA.
Ritika Patni, based in New York, will lead NDA's global legal strategy consulting practice. A former Linklaters corporate lawyer turned Columbia MBA and wellness entrepreneur, Patni brings cross-border experience in law, entrepreneurship, and consulting to NDA. She heads the firm's boardroom advisory practice, combining legal expertise with strategic consulting.
The appointments of Dr. Chintan Vaishnav and Ritika Patni reflect NDA's commitment to integrating multidisciplinary, business-focused expertise into its leadership rather than relying solely on traditional legal credentials. Their appointments also reinforce NDA's 4D model of Practice-Industry-Leadership-Skillset expertise.
Dr. Vaishnav holds a B.A. in Indian Classical Music from Gandharva Mahavidyalaya and a Ph.D. in Engineering Systems and an M.S. in Technology and Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He also holds an LL.B. from the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) Kolkata (Gold Medalist) and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Ritika Patni holds an LL.B. degree and was named to the Dean's Honor List at Columbia Business School. She brings a wealth of experience from her time at Alvarez & Marsal and as a corporate lawyer at Linklaters.
Dr. Nishith Desai, Founder of NDA, has expressed delight at the addition of Dr. Chintan Vaishnav and Ritika Patni to the firm. Their appointments underscore NDA's commitment to embracing change and challenging conventional thinking as it evolves into a strategic legal consulting practice.
Ritika Patni will lead in the Global Legal Strategy Consulting Practice based in New York, while Dr. Chintan Vaishnav will work in Boston. Dr. Vaishnav played a pivotal role in shaping India's startup innovation ecosystem, and his expertise encompasses technology, policy, and academia.
Meanwhile, Ritika Patni is a former Linklaters corporate lawyer turned Columbia MBA and wellness entrepreneur, with prior Fortune 500 consulting experience at Alvarez & Marsal. She will be leading NDA's global legal strategy consulting practice.
NDA's addition of Dr. Chintan Vaishnav and Ritika Patni to its leadership team is a significant step towards strengthening its presence in the US and expanding its capabilities in strategic legal consulting.
[1] Source: Nishith Desai Associates Press Release, [Date]
- Dr. Chintan Vaishnav's appointment as a futurist and techno-policy strategist at Nishith Desai Associates (NDA) demonstrates a focus on combining business acumen with legal expertise, as he will be primarily serving technology, healthcare, and professional services clients with a focus on strategic initiatives in boardroom advisory and cross-border strategy.
- In her role as the leader of NDA's global legal strategy consulting practice, Ritika Patni's unique background in law, entrepreneurship, and Fortune 500 consulting will contribute to the firm's strategic legal consulting expansion, providing a business-centric perspective and cross-border consulting experience to the firm.
