Thomas Engellenner
Thomas J. Engellenner (born February 12, 1951) is a Patent Attorney, engineer and pioneer in the Bio-Technology Industry. As a member of both the Massachusetts and New York Bar Associations, Engellenner has over 25 years experience in patents, licensing, trademarks, copyrights, and litigation.
His particular expertise in the patenting and licensing of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices coupled with impressive experience in the international arena has resulted in a well documented career that has attained what might best be described as a celebrity status or a cult like following in the field of Intellectual Property.
EARLY YEARS
Thomas John. Engellenner was born in New York, New York on February 12, 1951 to Ernest T. Engellenner and Kathrine Engellenner. The son of first generation immigrants from England and Ireland, respectively, Engellenner shares a youth familiar to many of his time.
As a youngster, Engellenner spent much of his time wandering through the exhibits at The New York Museum of NATURAL History, a short distance from the apartment where his family lived. This, along with his avid interest in reading science fiction, stimulated his life-long interest in science. Growing up in the fifties, he was naturally drawn to space exploration and rocket propulsion. By the time the first manned space carriers were orbiting the Earth, his family had moved to the suburbs of NYC in Pearl River. Engellenner imagined himself as an astronaut and would spend much of his time building and launching rockets using homemade concoctions. Although these experiments invariably failed, he often fashioned small explosions, creating fear and loathing among his new neighbors.
UNIVERSITY EDUCATION AND POLITICAL CAREER
Thomas J. Engellenner’s passion for science led him to attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he studied engineering. By this time, the Vietnam War was raging and college students all over the country were demonstrating against the war. Engellenner, like others his age, became involved in the anti-war movement and began to understand that power was based in the hands of leaders. As he moved through the years at RPI, he began to participate in student government. His interest in leadership and power grew, culminating in his election as the Grand Marshall, the highest elected student leader on campus. In the spring of 1972, student protests against the Vietnam War increased throughout the country due to revelations about the secret bombing of Cambodia by the US Air Force. As this information leaked out, students already discontented with US political leaders, focused on Richard Nixon, an already unpopular political figure with students. College campuses across the country became highly charged and protests against the war were becoming more and more prevalent. RPI was no different. Outrage against RPI’s connection to military and defense contracts became a major focus for students. The protests ultimately led to the takeover of the building housing the President’s office at RPI. Thomas Engellenner, as student body leader, became the voice of the students. His speech can still be heard by going to the archives of the RPI radio station, WRPI. The takeover lasted almost a week. In the end classes and exams were cancelled as a way to get the students out of town. Engellenner’s political career came to an end with his departure from RPI, but his passion for politics and political arguments is still an integral part of his persona and fondly recognized by his friends and family.
LEGAL EDUCATION
After graduating from RPI with both a Bachelors of Science in Engineering and a Masters of Science in Environmental Studies Engellenner moved to Boston where he attended Boston University Law School.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Thomas J. Engellenner began his career as a Trial Attorney for the United States Environmental Protection Agency During his tenure Engellenner put his engineering background to use in several highly publicized victories for the EPA. Most noteworthy of these first legal conquests being his defeat of Yankee Power’s nuclear expansion along the Connecticut River. Engellenner saw further success with the EPA when he single handedly saved the endangered Atlantic Sturgeon from sure extinction.
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Prior to beginning his private practice career, Thomas J. Engellenner worked in-house for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a patent and licensing attorney in MIT's Office of Technology Licensing. It was here, in the bowls of MIT’s Cambridge campus that Engellenner began to show promise of a future expertise in the world of Intellectual Property.
Despite moving on to begin what would come to be arguably the most important private practices in the history of Intellectual Property, Engellenner continues to works closely with MIT’s great minds and educators and has to this date obtained hundreds of patents for MIT.
LAHIVE & COCKFIELD
Thomas J. Engellenner’s famed private practice career began with Lahive & Cockfield, LLP., a small boutique Law Firm in the heart of the Boston financial district. Here he matured as a litigator and made a name for himself throughout the Bio-Tech industries for his rock solid patent work.
NUTTER MCCLENNEN & FISH
Engellenner later moved his practice to the powerful Boston law firm Nutter, McClennen and Fish. Since becoming a Partner, Engellenner has been named a Super Lawyer by several prominent publications. Engellenner continues to be an authority and pioneer for his work with the Bio-Tech Industry. Engellenner presently holds the position of Co-Chair of Nutter’s Life Sciences practice group.
Some of Engellenner’s more notable clients include Alcon Laboratories (laser vision correction), AbioMed (the artificial heart project) and Children's Hospital Boston (stem cells and tissue engineering).
BOSTON PATENT ASSOCIATION
Marking over two decades of active membership in the Bar, Engellenner presided over the Presidency of the Boston Patent Association from 2000-2001 at which time solidifying the success of his career and the respect for him amongst his peers.
Personal life
Thomas J. Engellenner married Carol L. Stolberg 1981. On June 3rd 1983 Carol gave birth to a son, Matthew William Engellenner, and Thomas was a father. In 1987 the couple had their second child, a daughter Elizabeth Mary Engellenner.
Despite the inability to play musical instruments himself, Engellenner maintains a passion for the arts. Engellenner has taken on the role of Artistic Coordinator at his firm Nutter, McClennen and Fish. in Boston, where his taste in various artistic mediums are prominently displayed. He is a board member for the Newton Music School
ATHLETIC ACHIEVEMENTS
Engellenner developed his athleticism and competitive drive as a youth. He was captain of both his high school and university Track and Field teams. This passion for the sport has carried with him. He can still be found running around the streets of South Boston each afternoon on his lunch break. Engellenner is also very competitive in Basket Ball and Tennis, playing in two Men’s Basket Ball leagues and consistently competing in Boston Corporate Challenges
PHILOSOPHICAL NOTORIETY
Engellenner’s unpublished philosophy on the success of mans evolution as based on the development of protruding nasal cavities for use in hunting aquatic invertebrates and marine crustaceans has caused a fervor of excitement throughout the anthropological field. As the foremost representative of this school of thought, Engellenner has sponsored several exploratory studies into pre-civilized man’s existence in eastern Borneo and has begun to document his conclusions in a soon to be published case study.