Gopal Ballav Pattanaik, the former Chief Justice of India, as a child, had aspired to become a doctor, but he pivoted to law, earning an LLB degree from MS Law College, Cuttack. Gopal started his legal practice in Odisha High Court in 1962. He became a law officer as standing counsel, and then became government advocate, till his elevation as a judge in the Orissa High Court. In 1995, Gopal became the Chief Justice of Patna High Court and then later that year, he was elevated to the Supreme Court. Since his retirement from the Supreme Court in 2002, Patnaik has been engaged in arbitration cases, actively participating in cultural pursuits in his home state of Odisha, and travelling the world with his family. In 2021, Gopal penned his life story in his Odia autobiography, Mone Achhi Jetiki. He lives in Delhi with his wife, Meera.