Michael A. Battle to receive the Jaeckle Award

The Jaeckle Award is given annually to a person who exemplifies the highest ideals of the School of Law and Law Alumni Association and has made significant contributions to the school and the legal profession.

Currently a partner at Barnes & Thornburg LLP in Washington, D.C., Battle will accept the award at the School of Law’s New York City Alumni Luncheon to be held at the Union League Club in Manhattan beginning at 12 noon on Friday, January 31, 2020.

A member of the law school’s Class of 1981, Battle has held several distinguished public service positions prior to entering private practice. From 2005-2007, he served as Director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, 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 U.S. Senate confirmed to be the appointed U.S. Attorney in that district in 2002.  He has also served as an Erie County Court Family Court judge, and as a staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society of New York City, Civil Division.

At Barnes & Thornburg, Battle focuses his practice on white collar criminal matters.  He counsels clients on matters involving the Foreign Corruption Practices Act (FCPA), health care fraud, as well as the False Claims Act (FCA).

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.  Throughout his career, Battle has remained 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.

The Jaeckle Award is named for Edwin F. Jaeckle ’15, a founding partner of the former Buffalo law firm Jaeckle, Fleischmann & Mugel, and a major benefactor of the school.  Battle joins several other esteemed members of the legal community who have previously received the Jaeckle Award, including Hon. Charles S. Desmond, Hon. Matthew J. Jasen, Manly Fleischmann, Jacob D. Hyman, Hon. M. Dolores Denman, William R. Greiner, Hon. Eugene F. Pigott, Jr., Terrence M. Connors, Hon. Barbara Howe and Ann E. Evanko.