Minnesota Lawyer
As a child, Martha Engel once dressed as an attorney for Halloween, but she was also interested in cars and mechanics. Combining those loves into a career as a shareholder at Winthrop & Weinstine, she is making a name for herself working with clients as more of a problem-solving attorney than one spoiling for a courtroom fight.
The graduate of William Mitchell College of Law (now Mitchell Hamline School of Law) found her calling in patent law and has translated that into a specialty of not only patents, but also intellectual property.
In one of her biggest achievements to date, she helped the Toppling Goliath Brewery Co. resolve a dispute about the brewery’s Psuedo Sue beer with the Field Museum in Chicago. When the beer was launched, the museum was concerned about the likeness of the beer logo to its most famous resident, Sue the T. Rex.
Instead of battling, Engel worked to get the museum logo on brewery products and brewery products into the museum.
“My approach to law is to try and resolve disputes,” she said. “There is a way to protect the owners of a brand without damaging the brand of another.
“I like to win, but I don’t like to fight to win.”
