Thomas E. Williams is a registered patent attorney and is a member of Neal Gerber Eisenberg’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. His practice involves U.S. and foreign patent, trademark and copyright matters with particular concentration on the aerospace, mechanical and electromechanical arts, in addition to computer software and e-commerce/Internet areas. Tom represents and counsels individuals and corporations on a variety of intellectual property matters, including patent application preparation and prosecution, patentability and infringement opinions, trademark clearance searches and procurement, and intellectual property litigation.

Prior to entering the legal profession, Tom enjoyed a lengthy engineering career spanning nearly 12 years as an aerospace and mechanical engineer, where he worked on leading edge technology involving rocket engines, gas turbine engines and fuel controls. A significant portion of his engineering experience included providing technical support for the assembly and overhaul of space shuttle main engine turbomachinery used on over 47 space shuttle missions and as a principal design engineer for the turbomachinery used on the RS-68 liquid rocket main engine for Boeing’s Delta IV expendable launch vehicle.

Tom is admitted to practice in Illinois and in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, as well as before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Tom earned his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law in 2002, his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from California State University-Northridge in 1995, and his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Purdue University in 1988.

• Illinois, 2003

• Purdue University (B.S.A.A.E., 1988)
• California State University, Northridge (M.S.M.E., 1995)
• DePaul University College of Law (J.D., 2002)