Ed Batts – Corporate Law Attorney and Military Veteran
A Palo Alto, California-based corporate law attorney with more than two decades of experience, Ed Batts earned a bachelor of arts in political science at UCLA and juris doctor from Stanford Law School. While at UCLA, he volunteered with Amigos de UCLA to tutor elementary school children in Latino neighborhoods, completed several graduate-level courses, and interned with Empower America and the Department of State (DOS). During his time with the DOS, Ed Batts served on the task force responsible for evacuating U.S. Embassy personnel from Rwanda in 1994. He focused on corporate and securities law at Stanford.
Ed Batts began his career at DLA Piper LLP. He spent more than 16 years with the Silicon Valley firm, during which time he counseled public companies and specialized in complex mergers and acquisitions (M&A). He also represented several companies and underwriters in IPOs. Ed Batts later served as global chair of M&A and private equity at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. Since 2020, he has been a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.
Ed Batts primarily works with publicly traded companies in the enterprise software and semiconductor supply chain sectors. He represents semiconductor clients in fabless designs, electronic design automation, fabs and equipment; software companies, including cloud providers; and clients in adjacent areas such as hardware manufacturers, 5G, and satellite/space. Beyond his work in M&A and private equity, he advises companies on corporate governance and provides crisis management for cybersecurity, accounting, and activist investor situations. Ed Batts has been named an Acritas/Thomson Reuters Star and BTI Client Service All Star multiple times.
A military officer veteran, Mr. Batts is a graduate of the Criminal Investigator Training Program and Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. He was twice deployed to the Middle East and served with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and Air Force Office of Special Investigations.