Leading IP Attorney Billie Jean Smith Joins Boyle Fredrickson

Boyle Fredrickson, Wisconsin’s largest, full-service intellectual property law firm, announced today the addition of attorney Billie Jean Smith. Smith, one of the first female intellectual property attorneys in Milwaukee, has joined Boyle Fredrickson after spending more than 25 years at another top law firm in southeast Wisconsin, where she chaired the intellectual property law department. Well-known in the Milwaukee community for her involvement with local organizations and charitable causes, her work helping dreamers, designers and innovators protect their intellectual property rights is equally significant.

Smith brings more than 25 years of experience as a multi-disciplined intellectual property attorney to Boyle Fredrickson. She works with clients to procure, manage and enforce IP portfolios including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. In addition, her technical background in biomedical engineering gives her a unique insight into the issues and challenges that innovators face when procuring and protecting their IP rights, from product development to positioning in the marketplace. Smith collaborates with clients and the larger IP community to ensure the best, most efficient, and most cost-effective outcomes possible, and has a strong track record of successful outcomes for her clients.

“Billie Jean’s client relationships, involvement in the community and practical business approach make her a great fit for Boyle Fredrickson,” said Adam Brookman, president of Boyle Fredrickson, S.C. “She has an excellent reputation and complements the experience of our attorneys, many of whom are also established experts in their field.”

Smith is a member of numerous professional organizations and serves on several community boards, such as the Marquette University College of Engineering Dean’s Steering Committee and also serves as a member of the advisory committee for Marquette University College of Engineering’s E-Lead Program, a three-year leadership development program for undergraduates that attracts many female students. For many years she hosted “summer send-off” gatherings for incoming Marquette engineering students and often speaks in classes and seminars about intellectual property law. Smith continues to share her love of engineering, math and science with students at a time when Marquette is experiencing the highest percentage of women to ever enter the College of Engineering.

Smith is a member of the board of directors, and serves as both the Vice President of Development and Vice President of Finance for After Breast Cancer Diagnosis (ABCD), which pairs women who receive a breast cancer diagnosis with someone that experienced a similar diagnosis. Smith is passionate about this organization as many women are touched by breast cancer in some way.

Smith is also on the board of Playworks Wisconsin, a nonprofit organization that aims to reduce bullying and increase inclusion by creating a generation of kinder, empathetic kids. The implementation of Playworks in 34 Milwaukee Public Schools has shown to decrease bullying by teaching students dispute mechanisms they can also use inside the classroom.

Smith earned a degree in biomedical engineering from Marquette University. Soon after, she went on to earn her juris doctor degree at the University of Wisconsin Madison. She worked for more than two decades as a patent lawyer and chaired the IP department at one of southeastern Wisconsin’s largest law firms. Smith was named to The Best Lawyers in America® by Patent Law in 2019, named to IP Stars – Top 250 Women in IP by Managing Intellectual Property in 2013, received the Marquette University’s Opus College of Engineering Service Award in 2015, and was presented with IAM Patent 1000 award for the World’s Leading Patent Practitioners from 2013-2018. For more information, visit https://www.boylefred.com/our-people/billie-jean-smith/.

Smith is a self-proclaimed wanderlust who is constantly seeking adventure. A few of her adventures include climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, sailing through the Galapagos Islands, and trekking through the Sahara on a camel, just to name a few.

About Boyle Fredrickson

Established in 1999 in Milwaukee, Boyle Fredrickson has grown to become Wisconsin’s largest intellectual property law firm. The firm handles all facets of IP law, from patents, trademarks and copyrights to trade secrets, unfair competition and licensing. The firm and its attorneys have been recognized as a Best Law Firm by U.S. News and World Report since 2008, and many of the firm’s attorneys have been named as SuperLawyers. Because of the firm’s focus on domestic and international IP law, Boyle Fredrickson provides expert counsel, personal service and attention to detail not found anywhere else in Wisconsin. For more information, visit boylefred.com or call 414-225-9755.