Billie Audia advises clients in the technology, retail, and medtech sectors on intellectual property and corporate matters and negotiates related commercial transactions. Over the past 20 years, she has negotiated and closed over 1,000 commercial deals, in over 15 countries, involving technology, SaaS, consumer products, copyrighted works, trademarks, commercial services, joint ventures, sales, promotions, supply chain, and strategic sourcing.
Billie sees parallels between commercial deal negotiations and playing doubles on the tennis court – "both require you and your partner to have a plan, trust each other, and face opponents and obstacles with confidence." As an OGC, Billie routinely prepares for a negotiation by holding a "prep session" with her client to create a plan, set priorities, and decide who will handle certain aspects during the negotiation. Whether on the tennis court or in commercial deal negotiations, Billie strongly believes in "planning your dive and diving your plan" while remaining agile enough to adjust as needed and bring home a win.
Like many OGCs, Billie started out in Big Law before moving in-house with Fortune 500 and emerging companies. During this period, which included 6 years as acting General Counsel for a Paris-based software company, Billie mastered the ability to align legal strategy with her client's business objectives to mitigate risk and optimize outcomes. She credits this approach with earning the trust of her clients, who include William Arruda, co-founder of CareerBlast, the personal branding company, and a best-selling author. When asked about Billie, William said, "Billie's superpower is translating complex legal language into plain English so everyone at the negotiation table can understand and agree to it."
In choosing to become an OGC, Billie was enticed largely by OGC's collaborative culture, autonomous practice model, and impressive client roster. Today, she continues to focus on IP, corporate matters, and commercial transactions for a portfolio of clients in the technology, retail, AI and medtech sectors. Helping clients see the law as a strategic tool that can enhance corporate value and monetize intellectual property assets is the name of the game for Billie.
More about Billie Audia
In addition to her practice, Billie writes the Contracts Corner column for the ACC Docket, which has helped solidify her reputation as a "contracts guru." In her latest article, Billie discusses auto-renewal clauses in commercial contracts in light of the Federal Trade Commission's recently proposed changes concerning auto-renewal regulations. She also has taught the International Intellectual Property law course at Vermont Law School. Billie is on the board of multiple organizations, including the Upper Valley Aquatic Center, and served on the ski patrol at Okemo Mountain Resort for ten years. Billie speaks Italian and has lived and worked in Italy and the United Kingdom, giving her an appreciation of and sensitivity to international cultural and legal issues. She and her family now live in northern New England with their big dog, Bode.
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