California Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed Indian American attorney Bhanu Sadasivan to serve as a judge in the Santa Clara County Superior Court.
Sadasivan, a Santa Clara County resident registered as an independent, is to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Joanne McCracken, according to the June 26 announcement from the governor’s office.
Sadasivan’s transition to the judiciary marks the latest chapter in a career that bridges advanced biomedical science and complex intellectual property law.
Read: Meet Saritha Komatireddy, Indian American lawyer running for New York Attorney General
(May 17, 2026)
Before entering the legal profession, she completed her foundational scientific education in India, earning a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology with honors and a Master of Science in Immunology with honors from the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi.
Moving to the United States, she earned a PhD in Immunology from Yale University. Following her doctoral degree, Sadasivan worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, where she was awarded an Arthritis Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship. She also co-authored several scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals.
Sadasivan transitioned to law by earning her Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. She spent over two decades in private practice specializing in high-stakes patent litigation, particularly within the life sciences industry.
Read: Indian American UWF professor secures $825,000 grant to support cancer survivors (June 23, 2026)
Her legal work frequently involved technically complex disputes concerning recombinant DNA technology, pharmaceutical formulations, antibody therapeutics, and computer hardware and software.
She began her legal career as an associate at Heller Ehrman, practicing there from 2004 to 2008, before working as an associate at Covington & Burling from 2008 to 2012.
In 2012, she joined the law firm McDermott Will & Emery as a partner in Silicon Valley. Her defense of major biotechnology and pharmaceutical corporations earned her recognition in national directories, including Lawdragon’s Top 500 Leading Litigators in America from 2022 through 2026, Best Lawyers in America, and the IAM Patent 1000 guide.
Alongside her corporate practice, Sadasivan maintained a focus on regional civic engagement through her involvement with the Asian Law Alliance, a community organization dedicated to providing equal legal access to low-income and Asian American populations in Santa Clara County. She has served the organization both as a board member and as its board president.