[citation needed] In 1962, he enrolled as an advocate in the Orissa High Court, where he practiced in civil, criminal, constitutional and corporate cases.

[8] When Patnaik took over as the Chief Justice of India, it appeared that he would not be able to achieve much in the administration of the judiciary, in view of his short tenure.

He visited UK and the United States and participated in joint workshops and seminars with the judges of the House of Lords in Britain and the U.S. Supreme Court, respectively.

[citation needed] For several years he was the Chairman of the selection committee for the prestigious literary award of Indian literature, the “Saraswati Samman”.

[citation needed] In 2021 Pattanaik was the recipient of the prestigious Utkal Ratna award for his lifetime achievement in the field of Law and Justice.