Barnes & Thornburg’s Michael Battle to Receive Highest Alumni Honor From Buffalo Law School

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Barnes & Thornburg partner Michael A. Battle will receive the highest honor from the University at Buffalo School of Law and the UB Law Alumni Association when he accepts the 2020 Edwin F. Jaeckle Award at a Jan. 31 event in Manhattan.

Named after law school benefactor Edwin F. Jaeckle, the Jaeckle Award is presented annually to a person who exemplifies the highest ideals of the law school and alumni association and who has made significant contributions to the school and legal profession. Battle, who earned his J.D. in 1981, is expected to accept the award during the school’s New York City Alumni Luncheon at the Union League Club. 

Throughout his career, Battle has been active and engaged with the law school. He is a member of the national advisory board for the law school’s Advocacy Institute and a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council. He has previously served on the UB Law Alumni Association’s board of directors, and received the Law Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Award for Community Service in 1997.

At Barnes & Thornburg, Battle focuses his legal practice on white collar criminal matters. He counsels clients on matters involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), healthcare fraud, and the False Claims Act (FCA).

Battle has served in public service positions throughout his professional career, including as director of the Executive Office for U.S. Attorney (2005-07), where he coordinated and managed 93 U.S. Attorneys.

Previously, Battle was one of the first three federal defenders in the Western District of New York when the office was created in 1992. He was later confirmed by the U.S. Senate as U.S. Attorney in that district in 2002. As U.S. Attorney, Battle sat on the Attorney General’s Subcommittee on Civil Rights, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and White Collar Fraud, and helped create a U.S. task force to prosecute fraud in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He is also a former judge. 

Battle is a member of the board of directors of Evans Bancorp, Inc., and serves on the board of trustees for his undergraduate alma mater, Ithaca College.  

With more than 600 attorneys and other legal professionals, Barnes & Thornburg is one of the largest law firms in the country. The firm serves clients worldwide from offices in Atlanta, California, Chicago, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Minneapolis, Ohio, Raleigh, Salt Lake City, Texas and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit us online at www.btlaw.com or on Twitter @BTLawNews.