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August 10, 2025

Nishith Desai Associates Welcomes Dr. Chintan Vaishnav and Ritika Patni to its Global Leadership Team

10 August 2025 – Mumbai, India

Nishith Desai Associates (NDA) is delighted to announce the addition of two exceptional leaders, Dr. Chintan Vaishnav and Ritika Patni, whose expertise will significantly enhance the firm’s strategic capabilities and strengthen its global engagement, particularly in the United States.

Dr. Chintan Vaishnav, Futurist and Techno-Policy Strategist (Boston)

Dr. Vaishnav, a globally respected futurist and systems thinker joins NDA in Boston and brings a unique blend of deep technical expertise and public policy insight. Most recently, he served as Mission Director of the Atal Innovation Mission at NITI Aayog, where he played a pivotal role in shaping India’s startup innovation ecosystem. He also chaired the creation of the Startup20 Engagement Group during India’s G20 Presidency in 2023.

Chintan holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Systems and an M.S. in Technology and Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), along with dual degrees in Electrical & Computer Engineering from RV College of Engineering, Bengaluru. He is also a B.A. graduate in Indian Classical Music from Gandharva Mahavidyalaya. At MIT, he served as a senior lecturer at the Sloan School of Management and is a founding member of the MIT Tata Center for Technology and Design.

At NDA, Chintan will guide engagements across techno-policy innovation, AI governance, and strategy consulting, bringing a multidisciplinary approach. He will be leading projects aimed at harmonising public and private sector interests in the evolving global legal and regulatory landscape.

Ritika Patni, Leader, Global Legal Strategy Consulting Practice (New York)

Ritika Patni joins NDA as a Leader in the Global Legal Strategy Consulting Practice, based in New York. A lawyer, entrepreneur, and management consultant with a strong cross-border profile, Ritika began her career as a corporate lawyer at Linklaters LLP in London, founded ArtH- Art of Health, a wellness startup incubated at Columbia University, and later advised Fortune 500 companies as a consultant with Alvarez & Marsal.

She holds an LL.B. from the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) Kolkata (Gold Medalist) and an MBA from Columbia Business School, where she was named to the Dean’s Honor List. At NDA, she will lead strategic initiatives focused on boardroom advisory and cross-border strategy, with a particular emphasis on technology, healthcare, and professional services clients.

Strengthening NDA’s Multidisciplinary DNA

The addition of Chintan and Ritika reinforces NDA’s 4D model of Practice–Industry–Leadership–Skillset expertise, a unique law firm model built over three decades by integrating high-quality professionals from diverse fields. This tradition has been built and enriched by:

Each has brought unique expertise that continues to shape the future of law and policy. This diversity of talent has been instrumental in NDA being consistently recognised amongst Asia’s Most Innovative Law Firm (FT, 2014-19).

Commenting on the appointments, Dr. Nishith Desai, Founder of NDA, said:

“We are delighted to welcome Chintan and Ritika to NDA. Chintan’s expertise in technology, policy, and academia, and Ritika’s cross-border experience in law, entrepreneurship, and consulting, strongly reinforce our 4D model of Practice–Industry–Leadership–Skillset expertise. Their arrival reflects our commitment to embracing change and challenging conventional thinking as we evolve into a strategic legal consulting practice.”

About Nishith Desai Associates

Nishith Desai Associates is a research and strategy based international law firm with Indian offices in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore and GIFT City and foreign offices in Palo Alto (Silicon Valley), New York, Singapore, Dubai and now in Boston.

To learn more, please explore our presentation titled ‘Inside the Research & Innovation Engine of NDA: A Blueprint for Building a Driverless Organization’.