Hon. Shashi H. Kewalramani (Ret.) joins JAMS after serving as a U.S. magistrate judge for the Central District of California, where he earned a reputation for being a sought-after neutral to assist in resolving complex federal disputes with efficiency, fairness and deep subject-matter fluency. While on the bench, Judge Kewalramani managed a diverse docket of civil matters, including intellectual property (patent, trademark, copyright and trade secrets), commercial litigation, employment, class action and civil rights cases. He is a trusted judicial resource for handling high-stakes settlement conferences, where he was often referred complex matters by judges across the district and was requested by parties to assist in resolving complex intellectual property, employment, commercial and credit reporting cases, as well as disputes involving constitutional challenges against governmental entities. He was known for his preparation and willingness to conduct settlement conferences that went late into the evening or lasted several days in order to arrive at a resolution. He also presided over and decided matters involving discovery issues related to a variety of substantive areas and developed mechanisms to efficiently decide disputes pertaining to class action and intellectual property matters, particularly among direct competitors in particular industries. Having tried numerous cases as lead trial counsel, he is acutely aware of the considerations that clients and counsel face in preparing, presenting, and resolving matters. 

Prior to his judicial service, Judge Kewalramani built a well-rounded litigation career across both the public and private sectors. He served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Central and Northern districts of California, including in the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) unit, where he led investigations and prosecutions involving cybercrime, fraud, data breaches and trade secret offenses, and handled investigations and prosecutions involving new technologies and securities violations. In private practice, he represented clients in intellectual property and commercial litigation on the defense and plaintiff sides for his clients, white-collar criminal defense, and state and federal investigation matters. Prior to joining the Department of Justice, he worked at a prominent intellectual property law firm, where he handled patent litigation involving technologies in the electrical, chemical, genetic and mechanical arts, and handled trade secret, design patent, antitrust and copyright matters. Prior to entering private practice, he was a law clerk to Hon. Richard A. Schell, chief judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, where he assisted in a variety of cases, including one of the largest product liability multidistrict litigations (MDLs) involving medical products.

With an undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering and credentials as a registered patent attorney, Judge Kewalramani brings a unique level of technical sophistication and substantive knowledge to disputes and is used to handling matters with cutting-edge technological issues. Additionally, he brings a trial attorney’s attention to detail and tenacity in assisting in resolving matters. This combination of legal and technical fluency, as well an awareness of the practicalities of litigation, makes him a particularly strong choice for matters at the intersection of law, science and business.

Representative Matters

The following matters are settlement conferences handled by Judge Kewalramani while on the bench.

• Business Commercial
• Dispute involving inaccurate credit reporting under multiple consumer finance statutes, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), California Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act (CCRAA) and the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (RFDCPA)
• Action by a municipal agency regarding foreclosure on federally owned property
• Litigation involving reporting of erroneous debt on consumer credit history
• Contractual dispute concerning the purchase and delivery of commercial fleet vehicles
• Coverage denial challenge related to health insurance benefits
• Dispute involving the purchase and delivery of diagnostic equipment
• Franchise litigation focused on performance benchmarks and earnout payments
• Trade secret matter involving employee poaching and interference with contract
• Trade secret litigation involving alleged theft of business-related intellectual property and breach of a payout agreement
• Claim for emotional distress from alleged bad-faith insurance handling
• Mortgage servicing dispute involving contract breach in modified loan terms
• Civil Rights
• Claims of constitutional violations for failure to protect an inmate and retaliatory conduct
• Allegations of excessive force by law enforcement during detention
• Civil rights action asserting police brutality and denial of medical care
• Free speech retaliation claim involving exclusion from school district vendor relationships
• Licensing dispute implicating equal protection and discriminatory application of a municipal ordinance
• Use-of-force incident during arrest, raising constitutional concerns
• Multi-plaintiff class action alleging dangerous COVID-related jail conditions
• Police misconduct case involving force during arrest of a protest participant
• Alleged unreasonable seizure and physical violence by sheriff’s department
• Civil action for excessive force arising from a neighborhood altercation
• Employment Law
• FMLA and CFRA interference claims based on denial of leave and accommodation
• Wrongful termination claim alleging discriminatory and pretextual firing
• Race discrimination claims by federal employee challenging removal
• Allegations of retaliation and CFRA leave denial in retail setting
• Claims of misclassification and termination in trucking logistics industry
• Workplace retaliation action arising from whistleblower disclosures
• Disability discrimination and accommodation denial
• Racial bias and First Amendment retaliation asserted by city contractor
• Wrongful termination and disability-based retaliation alleged by temporary worker
• Wage and hour violations regarding overtime, meal periods and wage statements
• Insurance
• Insurance dispute concerning alleged misrepresentation during procurement of marine vessel coverage
• Litigation over coverage for property damage due to water intrusion at a residential home
• Subrogation action involving claims that a defective home appliance caused significant water damage
• Insurance-related breach of contract case involving nonpayment of commercial policy premiums
• Intellectual Property

Patent

• Multi-patent dispute involving innovative construction materials
• Software patent litigation concerning proprietary online voting technology
• Allegations of patent infringement in the resale of IT hardware, including used network switches
• Design patent and utility patent dispute involving intellectual property rights in collapsible storage containers

Trademark

• Trademark infringement and cybersquatting claims involving online brand misrepresentation and search manipulation tactics

Copyright

• Copyright and patent action related to software utilized in diagnostic hardware
• Copyright infringement action concerning unauthorized reuse and embedding of YouTube-hosted creative content in competitor materials
• Action involving copyright and other intellectual property and breach of contract allegations regarding the disclosure of questions in accreditation exam
• Product Liability
• Trip-and-fall claim involving an obstructed aisle at a retail store
• Injury claim arising from a physical altercation with a postal worker
• Slip-and-fall incident in a warehouse store resulting in head and spine injuries
• Premises liability arising from a fall at an e-commerce fulfillment center
• Wrongful death claim from a child fatality in a vehicular collision
• Auto collision claim involving injuries to a federal passenger

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

• Member, Howard T. Markey Intellectual Property Inn of Court
• President, 2022–2023
• Board Member, Los Angeles Intellectual Property Lawyers Association, 2023–2025
• Board Member, Orange County Constitutional Rights Foundation, 2014–2017
• President, South Asian American Bar Association (SAABA), Houston, 1999
• Judicial Appreciation Award, SAABA of Southern California, 2024
• Member, SAABA of Southern California, 2012–2025
• Board Member, Asian Pacific Islander Section, Texas State Bar, 1999
• Member, OCBA Bar Foundation, 2015–2017
• Board Member, Inland Empire Chapter, Federal Bar Association, 2017–2025
• Mentor of the Year, SAABA of Southern California, 2019
• Southern California “Super Lawyer,” White-Collar Criminal Defense, 2015–2017

Background and Education

• U.S. Magistrate Judge, Central District of California, 2017–2025
• Private practice focusing on IP litigation and federal white-collar defense, 2011–2017
• Assistant U.S. Attorney, Northern District of California (Computer Hacking & IP Section) and Central District of California, 2003–2011
• Law Clerk, Chief United States Judge Richard A. Schell, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, 1996-1997
• J.D., cum laude, Baylor University School of Law, 1996
• Notes and Comments Editor, Baylor Law Review
• B.S., Aerospace Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, 1993
• Tau Beta Pi (Engineering Honor Society)
• Sigma Gamma Tau (Aerospace Engineering Honor Society)
• President, University of Texas Chapter, 1992