Robert J. Lambrechts, Ph.D.

Bob Lambrechts has filed nearly 800 patent applications in the United States, and over 400 patent applications in foreign jurisdictions. He has been an adjunct professor at the University of Missouri at Kansas City’s schools of law and engineering for over 30 years, and in his practice, he brings knowledge gained through a rich and varied background to help clients develop strategies for maximizing their patent portfolios.

Prior to joining the firm, Bob served as a senior automation engineer with the Allied Signal Corporation in Kansas City, Missouri. He also served with the U.S. EPA in the Region VII office as a special assistant to the Regional Administrator, and served 28 years as a Reserve Engineering Duty Officer in the United States Navy Reserve.

As an intellectual property lawyer, Bob has substantial experience in preparing patent applications for medical devices, safety equipment, machine tools, building components, environmental control systems and automation equipment. He is often called upon to provide clients with legal opinions on infringement issues and patent validity, and he assists clients with licensing of intellectual property and protecting their intellectual property rights.

In addition to his intellectual property work, Bob also has a strong environmental law practice, and especially enjoys working with environmental industry clients who seek seasoned guidance on their environmental and intellectual property issues. Overall, Bob’s wide ranging work experiences give him a deep understanding of client needs, and he works diligently to understand each company’s personnel, history, products, processes and markets. Bob often meets with and visits clients on his own time in order to gain an appreciation for research activities and production operations to ensure he understands and represents each client in a way that is consistent with its business strategy and core values.

Bob received his Ph.D. in engineering and geosciences and focused his research upon the analysis of patented direct air capture technology and the role of that technology in removing carbon from the atmosphere to attempt to reverse the adverse impacts of global warming.

• Panelist, "Artificial Rights?" Washburn Law Symposium, November 5, 2020
• Presenter, "Basics of Drone Law," Kansas Bar Association, June 18, 2020
• Presenter, Intellectual Property Fundamentals for the Engineering Law seminar, Halfmoon Education, November 28, 2018
• Panelist, "Strategies for Protecting Environmental Innovation and Your Company's Brand," Air & Waste Management Annual Conference, Hartford, CT, June 27, 2018
• Speaker, Ethics in the Engineering Profession, Society of American Military Engineers of Greater Kansas City, October 2017
• Speaker, Protecting Intellectual Property for Emerging Environmental Technologies, 2017 Midwest Environmental Compliance Conference, May 2017
• Speaker, The Intersection Between Intellectual Property Law and Environmental Law, Society of American Military Engineers, April 2017
• Speaker, RMP/PSM Update and Pitfalls – Enforcement Case Study, REGFORM 10th Annual Missouri Air Compliance Seminar, March 2017
• Speaker, The Intersection of Environmental Innovation and Intellectual Property, 25th Annual Midwest Section Air and Waste Management Association Environmental Technical Conference, February 2017
• Speaker, Missouri Air Compliance Seminar, March 2014
• Adjunct Faculty, UMKC Schools of Engineering and Law (1993-2023)
• Speaker, Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors (2001-2004)
• Speaker and Moderator, Environmental Conference at the Lake, Sponsored by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce (2001-2003)
• Speaker and Moderator, Midwest Region Environmental Conference, Sponsored by Associated Industries of Missouri (2001-2006)
• Speaker, Associated Industries of Missouri, EPA's Risk Management Program (1996-1998)
• Speaker, Kansas University, Environmental Regulation Update (1997)
• Adjunct Faculty, Johnson County Community College (2002-2005)

• Author, An Overview of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Proposed Rule on Climate-Related Disclosure, The Magazine for Environmental Managers, July 2023
• Author, Managing risk and reputation: Improving emergency medical teams in crisis, Crisis Response Journal, July 2023
• Co-Author, The Kansas Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being and the Path Forward, Kansas Task Force for Lawyer Well-Being, April 2021
• Author, May It Please The Algorithm, The Journal of the Kansas Bar Association, December 2019
• Author, 3D Printing and Why Lawyers Should Care, The Journal of the Kansas Bar Association, February 2019
• Author, Navigating the Change in Climate Change Regulation in Kansas and Beyond, The Journal of the Kansas Bar Association, April 2017
• Author, The Drone Revolution, The Journal of the Kansas Bar Association, February 2016 
• Co-Author, Air Dispersion Modeling in the Major Source Construction Permitting Process, Natural Resources & Environment, Summer 2013
• Author, Options for Invalidating Patents, Thomson Reuters News & Insight, May 2012
• Author, The U.S. Electrical Grid: Surviving Cyber-Terrorism and Solar Flares, Natural Resources & Environment, ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, Spring 2011
• Author, Green Technology and Patent Protection, MEI - A Publication by Associated Industries of Missouri, April 2010
• Author, Green Technology and Patent Protection, Air & Waste Management, April 2010
• Author, Ubiquitous Industrial and Commercial Boilers and Their Regulation under the Clean Air Act, Natural Resources & Environment, ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, Spring 2010
• Author, Title V of the Clean Air Act—Amendments of 1990, Journal of The Missouri Bar, Vol. 49, No. 6 (Nov.-Dec. 1993)
• Author, Missouri Air Permit Law, Missouri Environmental Law and Policy Review, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Sept. 1994)
• Author, Making Your Intellectual Property Pay Off, EM - A publication of the Air and Waste Management Association (March 2003)
• Author, The Clean Air Act's Accidental Release Prevention Program,
• Missouri Environmental Law and Policy Review, Vol 5, No. 1 (Sept. 1997)
• Author, Internet Deep Linking, Kansas City Business Journal, (Oct. 1998)
• Author, MDNR's Tool Box For Encouraging Compliance, Missouri Environmental Law and Policy Review, Vol. 9, No. 1 (Dec. 2001)

• Executive Committee, Kansas Task Force for Lawyer Well-Being
• Chief Legal Officer and Board of Directors Member, Kansas City Augmented Intelligence Lab (KCAIL)
• The Missouri Bar
• Kansas Bar Association
• Licensed Patent Attorney
• Licensed Professional Engineer in Missouri
• Past Chair, Kansas City Chamber of Commerce Environment Committee
• Commander United States Navy Reserve (Retired)
• Past Chair, UMKC Civil and Mechanical Engineering Advisory Board
• Board of Directors, Kansas City Inventors Association
• Chair, Board of Directors, Heart to Heart International
• Member, Johnson County Ethics and Grievance Committee of the Kansas Disciplinary Administrator's Office
• Graduate of Overland Park Chamber of Commerce Leadership Class of 2022 (Class graduation speaker)

• Emergency Medical Technician
• Heart to Heart International, Board of Directors, Chair
• RegaloRx, Board of Directors

• Certified, Artificial Intelligence: Business Strategies and Applications, University of California, Berkeley
• Selected among The Best Lawyers in America®, 2021-2025
• 50 Kansans You Should Know, Ingram's, 2020
• 2013 Top Rated Lawyer in Intellectual Property
• 2013 Top Rated Lawyer for Energy, Environmental and Natural Resources
• Selected as Missouri/Kansas Super Lawyers, 2008-2009
• Selected by peers for “Best of the Bar,” The Kansas City Business Journal, 2003 and 2004
• Martindale-Hubbell® “AV” Rating
• United States Environmental Protection Agency Bronze Medals for Commendable Performance, 1993 & 1995
• Two United States Environmental Protection Agency Special Achievement Awards, 1993 & 1995