John Spangenberger – Creative Writing, Engineering, and the Patent Law Career He Didn't Know Existed

John Spangenberger is a patent attorney at Lando & Anastasi in Boston — and he got there entirely by accident. A kid who loved creative writing, peaked in fifth grade with a trophy for a story about warring grocery store vegetables, discovered physics in high school, studied electrical engineering at RPI, and found out patent law existed through a friend of a friend his senior year of college. It was, as he puts it, a match made in heaven. In this episode, we get into what patents actually are and why we have them, how much creative writing and debate actually go into IP law, why AI is creating new traps for inventors that keep attorneys up at night, and how John thinks very intentionally about allocating his time across work, teaching at Suffolk University, running, and three simultaneous book clubs.

Show notes:

• Lando & Anastasi LLP (John's firm): https://www.lalaw.com/
• Suffolk University (where John teaches business law): suffolk.edu
• The Prestige (film John highly recommends)
• Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (book recommendation) https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Pachinko/dp/B0DJ3G98QT
• Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (book recommendation) https://www.amazon.com/Piranesi/dp/B084NVNFBH
• City of Thieves by David Benioff (book recommendation) https://www.amazon.com/City-Thieves-Novel-David-Benioff/dp/0452295297
• Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (book recommendation) https://www.amazon.com/Devil-White-City-Madness-Changed/dp/0609608444/
• Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel (currently reading) https://www.amazon.com/Kaikeyi-Novel-Vaishnavi-Patel/dp/0759557330/
• The Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra (referenced by Patrick) https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Physics-Exploration-Parallels-Mysticism/dp/1645472906/