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10 ¦ FEBRUARY 1, 2021 NEWS

CT Native Kurt Glitzenstein
On Being Tops in IP Litigation

By Ross Todd

Meet Kurt Glitzenstein, litigation practice
group leader at Fish & Richardson, the in-
tellectual property-focused firm that handles
the highest volume of patent cases in U.S. federal
courts, the International Trade Commission, and at
the Federal Circuit. Based in Boston, Glitzenstein,
like many of his Fish colleagues, has a background in
engineering. He’s also taken a lead role in the firm’s
push to offer alternative fee arrangements to clients.

Lit Daily: Tell us a little about yourself—beyond

what’s in your law firm bio.
Kurt Glitzenstein: I grew up in Connecticut and
planned to be a mechanical engineer like my father,
who worked at Pratt & Whitney. I received my B.S.
from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and
was pursuing a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering
from the University of California at Berkeley in the
Kurt Glitzenstein of Fish & Richardson.

late ’80s when I realized that obtaining my doctorate Courtesy photo.

would require me to become extremely technically build my own mountain bikes and love the freedom
focused, in a way that didn’t seem quite right for of going off the beaten path when I ride. My son and
me. I have always had very broad technical inter- I both love scuba diving, and we have traveled the
ests, and I also like to teach, like my mother, who world in search of interesting diving locales. I’m
was an English teacher in the high school I attended. also a pretty intense skier. My dad was a volunteer
Being a patent trial lawyer seemed like a good com- ski patrolman in Vermont, so I learned to ski when I
bination of the two, since you teach how technology was four years old. Now, I’m that guy who goes hik-
functions in court while at the same time working ing with his skis to find untrammeled snow.
through the legal issues.
I finished my master’s degree at UC Berkeley How big is your litigation department and
before heading to Harvard Law School and joined where are most of your litigators concentrated
Fish as a part-time clerk before I graduated in 1993. geographically?
During my early years at Fish, I worked with col- Fish is an elite intellectual property firm that oper-
leagues who challenged me, sharpened my thinking, ates at the top of the market. Our litigation practice
and gave me opportunities that few young litigators includes over 200 IP trial lawyers in 14 worldwide
receive. Now, one of the most gratifying parts of my offices. We serve clients by forming customized,
job is nurturing our firm’s next generation of litiga- collaborative teams that intimately understand our
tion leaders. clients’ industries and technologies, so our focus is
When I’m not working and spending time with on fielding the most skilled team for the client rath-
my family, you will most likely find me outside. I er than on where the attorneys are geographically

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