Lawyerly Lairs: Patent Litigator Leaves The Pierre, Selling $23 Million Apartment

Patent litigation isn't as lucrative as it used to be, but those who were around for the glory days did very, very well for themselves.

We’ve written before about the tough times now facing patent litigators. A field whose practitioners used to receive above-market compensation and constant calls from recruiters is now confronting a serious slowdown, causing major problems for IP-focused firms.

But back when times were good for patent litigation, they were really good. How many lawyers, even partners at the bluest of blue-chip firms, wind up living in $23 million homes?

Over the weekend, the New York Times covered a major residential transaction:

A full-floor aerie on the 29th floor of the Pierre hotel, steps from Central Park and offering white-glove perks like concierge and twice-daily maid services to its co-op residents, sold to the widow of one of the founders of Liberty Travel for $22,900,000 and was the most expensive sale of the week, according to city records.

The 4,890-square-foot apartment, No. 2901, in a historic district at 795 Fifth Avenue and 61st Street, sold for $3 million below its most recent asking price; it has a monthly maintenance of $21,009, according to StreetEasy.com.

The apartment’s new owner is Charlene Haroche, widow of Gilbert Haroche, a founder of Liberty Travel. Gilbert Haroche passed away in April, so Charlene is “downsizing” — she bought this $22.9 million apartment after selling her prior place, a co-op at the nearby Sherry-Netherland Hotel, for a whopping $67.5 million.

And who’s the seller? A patent lawyer turned philanthropist, per the Times:

The seller of the Pierre co-op was identified in city records as Alfred B. Engelberg, a philanthropist who made his fortune as a lawyer challenging pharmaceutical company patents, and his wife, Gail May Engelberg. They were represented by Serena Boardman of Sotheby’s International Realty.

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For graduates of NYU Law School, Engelberg’s name should ring a bell — he’s a 1965 graduate, cum laude, and the founder of NYU Law’s Engelberg Center on Innovation Law and Policy. His legal career is long and distinguished:

Alfred B. Engelberg is an intellectual property lawyer and the Trustee of the Engelberg Foundation. During a legal career of more than 40 years he was a Patent Examiner in the United States Patent Office, a patent agent at Exxon Research & Engineering Co., a patent trial attorney in the United States Department of Justice, and a member of the New York City law firm of Amster, Rothstein & Engelberg. As counsel to the Generic Pharmaceutical Association, he played a leading role in the negotiations leading to the Hatch-Waxman Act of 1984. Subsequently, he specialized in pharmaceutical patent litigation.

Where he made lots and lots of money. Let’s check out the Pierre pad he just parted with, shall we?

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