Indian-origin lawyers on Forbes’ 2026 list of America’s Top Lawyers 

(Sep 19, 2026) Forbes’ third annual list of America’s Top Lawyers names 250 of the United States’ most accomplished attorneys this year. The selection follows a multi-stage process involving editorial research, peer nominations and evaluation of factors including courtroom performance, notable matters, industry recognition and thought leadership. Among those 250 names are at least 18 lawyers of Indian origin, working across fields ranging from Supreme Court advocacy and civil rights litigation to billion-dollar mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and securities regulation.

This feature spotlights six lawyers from the list whose careers span prominent areas of American law and whose journeys reflect different facets of the Indian-origin experience in the US legal profession. Their journeys offer a cross-section of the diverse paths represented among the Indian-origin lawyers on the Forbes’ list this year. Covering all 18 Indian-origin lawyers in a single feature would make for a much longer read, so The Global Indian will continue to bring their individual journeys to readers through separate profiles.

Neal Katyal: From son of Indian immigrants to arguing 2026 tariff case

Few Indian-American lawyers have had as visible a career in the American legal system as Neal Katyal. Born in Chicago in 1970 to Indian immigrant parents, an engineer father and a paediatrician mother, he grew up in a household shaped by education, professional achievement and public service. Those influences would eventually take him from academia to the highest levels of the US justice system.

Neal has argued more than 50 cases before the US Supreme Court and served as Acting Solicitor General of the United States under President Obama. He was the highest-ranking Indian-American to serve in the US Department of Justice at the time. He has also spoken publicly about his parents’ immigrant journey and how his upbringing shaped his understanding of law and public service. He attended Yale Law School, where he served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal and studied under prominent constitutional scholars. Now a partner at Milbank LLP in Washington, D.C., he focuses on appellate and complex litigation. His career also includes teaching national security law at Georgetown and representing Salim Hamdan in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, the landmark case challenging military tribunals established after 9/11. 

Kannon Shanmugam: Immigrant childhood to Supreme Court heavyweight

Kannon Shanmugam was born in Lawrence, Kansas, to parents who had emigrated from India in the late 1960s so his father could pursue a PhD in electrical engineering. His father later taught at the University of Kansas for more than three decades, and Shanmugam has spoken about growing up in a small Midwestern university town as the son of Indian immigrants. He has described himself as a “proud Jayhawk by birth.”

His academic trajectory was exceptional. He graduated from Harvard College at 20, won a Marshall Scholarship to Oxford and went on to build a career in appellate law, arguing 40 cases before the US Supreme Court. Today, he heads the Supreme Court and appellate practice at Davis Polk, where he has represented companies including Cisco, ExxonMobil and Meta before the nation’s highest court. He is also the only practising American lawyer named an honorary bencher of London’s Inner Temple.

Pallavi Mehta Wahi: From New Delhi to a US law firm’s helm

For Pallavi Mehta Wahi, the Indian connection is not a story passed down through her parents. It is where her own story begins. Born and raised in New Delhi, she studied at St. Stephen’s College before moving to England to read law at the University of Cambridge. She then crossed the Atlantic to build her legal career in the United States, beginning as a law clerk at the Washington State Court of Appeals.

Pallavi has spoken candidly about the pressure she felt early in her career to downplay aspects of her culture to fit in, but chose instead to embrace her background. “I won’t hide my culture,” she has said. “I don’t hide my background. I own it.” Today, she is a partner at Arnold & Porter, where she heads the firm’s Seattle office and its India practice, advising on matters connecting Indian and American business interests. She has also been named to the India Business Law Journal’s International A-List for eight consecutive years.

Krishna Veeraraghavan: Leading Amazon’s biggest deals

Krishna Veeraraghavan’s Indian-American story runs through a familiar family crossroads, but his career ultimately took him somewhere quite different. He has told Bloomberg that he once considered becoming a doctor and later thought about litigation before finding his way to mergers and acquisitions. Krishna attended Columbia Law School and graduated as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. Today, he is Global Co-Head of M&A at Paul Weiss, advising on some of the largest corporate transactions in the US and internationally.

His deal sheet includes Amazon’s acquisitions of Whole Foods and One Medical, AB InBev’s $123 billion merger with SABMiller, and major biotech transactions involving Eli Lilly. His expertise has also made him a regular voice on the media on the direction of global M&A, including the growing role of AI in dealmaking. Outside his legal practice, Krishna Veeraraghavan serves on the board of South Asian Youth Action, a nonprofit supporting South Asian immigrant communities in New York, and has roles with the Council on Foreign Relations and Princeton University’s Dean’s Advisory Council. He has been named Dealmaker of the Year three times by The American Lawyer.

Kalpana Srinivasan: The first South-Asian woman to lead her firm

Kalpana Srinivasan’s route to the American courtroom began in journalism. Before becoming a trial lawyer, she worked as an Associated Press reporter covering the rollout of broadband internet, an experience she has said taught her how to make technical subjects understandable to ordinary audiences. That ability to translate complexity would later prove useful in the courtroom, where she handles patent, antitrust and other high-stakes disputes.

In 2020, Kalpana Srinivasan became the first woman and first person of colour to lead Susman Godfrey, taking on the role of managing partner after 45 years in which the firm had been led by men. She continues to maintain an active trial practice, including her work on Flo & Eddie v. Sirius XM, a landmark copyright case involving pre-1972 sound recordings. She has received the Cornerstone Award from the South Asian Bar Association of North America and recognition from the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. In 2026, she received the Justice in Action Award from the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. Srinivasan holds a JD from Stanford Law School.

Enu A. Mainigi: From India to Washington’s top courtrooms

Enu Mainigi’s Indian-origin story begins in New Delhi and unfolds through a childhood shaped by her parents’ scientific careers. Born to two research scientists, she moved to the United States with her family at five and grew up moving from one research posting to another as her parents pursued grant-funded work across the country.

Her professional life took the opposite direction. Enu Mainigi joined Williams & Connolly in Washington, D.C., straight out of Harvard Law School in 1997, expecting to remain for only a year or two. Nearly three decades later, she sits on the firm’s executive committee and has built a trial practice focused largely on healthcare and financial services litigation. She has led or overseen more than 45 False Claims Act cases and government investigations and was named 2023 Litigator of the Year by The American Lawyer. She has also spoken about how different her own children’s stable upbringing has been from hers, with her children attending the same school since pre-kindergarten.

Also on the list:

• -Ishan Bhabha — Co-Managing Partner at Jenner & Block | Education law
• -Rajib Chanda — Co-Managing Partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett | Asset management
• -Rakesh Kilaru — Partner at Wilkinson Stekloff | Litigation
• -Ambika Kumar — Partner at Davis Wright Tremaine | Entertainment & media law
• -Sonal Mehta — Partner at WilmerHale | Intellectual property
• -Naveen Modi — Partner at Paul Hastings | Intellectual property
• -Deepro Mukerjee — Partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman | Intellectual property
• -Sonia Nijjar — Partner at Arps Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP | Mergers & acquisitions
• -Rahul Patel — Partner at King & Spalding | Mergers & acquisitions
• -Ashok Ramani — Partner at Davis Polk | Intellectual property litigation
• -Neema Sahni — Partner at Covington & Burling | Entertainment & media law
• -Joshua Zachariah — Partner at Goodwin Procter | Mergers & acquisitions

Across Supreme Court arguments, corporate boardrooms, regulatory battles and trial courts, these lawyers represent very different ways Indian-origin professionals have built careers in the American legal system. Their journeys also reflect different versions of the Indian-American experience, from immigrant families who arrived for education and research to professionals who came from India to build careers abroad.

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