Location Palo Alto, California, United States Regions San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley, West Coast Gender Male
Website www.gibsondunn.com/lawyer/batts-ed/ LinkedIn View on LinkedIn
A corporate attorney specializing in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and governance, Ed Batts graduated summa cum laude from UCLA with a bachelor of arts in political science and subsequently earned his juris doctor from Stanford University. While at UCLA, he interned with the Department of State and Empower America, a Washington, D.C.-based
think tank. He also served as the commencement speaker at his graduation. After graduating from Stanford Law School, Ed Batts began working at Gray, Cary, Ware & Freidenrich LLP.
Ed Batts worked more than 16 years for the Palo Alto, California-based law firm which, in 2004, merged to become DLA Piper LLP. Early in his career, he specialized in IPOs but shifted to M&A following the technology recession in 2000. He joined Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP as global chair of M&A and private equity in 2016 and served in that capacity until 2020. Ed Batts is now partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, where he helps facilitate cross-border transactions, tender offers, and spin-offs. He largely works with technology industry clients, including enterprise and cloud software companies as well as businesses across the semiconductor supply chain and in adjacent areas such as hardware manufacturers and 5G/satellite/space.
Complementing his legal experience, Ed Batts has earned recognition from Best Lawyers for his work in corporate law and is a multiple-time Acritas/Thomson Reuters Star and BTI Client Service All Star. He is a frequent speaker at corporate law conferences, including the Silicon Valley Directors’ Exchange and Financial Times Outstanding Directors Exchange.
Ed Batts is also a former federal special agent who was first commissioned into the United States Navy shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks. He served the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and was twice deployed to the Middle East. From 2008 to 2016, he was a special agent for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
