Battiste, Lynda Doud

John Batter is a partner in the firm's Litigation/Controversy and Securities Departments, and a member of the Securities Litigation and Enforcement Practice Group and the Business Trial Group. He joined the firm in 1982 and is a member of the firm’s Senior Associates Committee. Mr. Batter’s practice focuses on the defense of public and private companies and their directors and management against breach of fiduciary duty claims and securities fraud allegations, including those arising out of mergers and acquisitions and public offerings. He also has extensive experience handling the defense of SEC investigations and the unique issues presented by class actions.

Practice

Mr. Batter represents high technology and other public and private companies, which have included a national NYSE retailer, Raytheon, Canaccord Genuity, Gulf Oil, Cumberland Farms, Vonage, Chicago Bridge & Iron, Aspect Medical Systems, Inc., Peritus Software Services, Akamai Technologies, BioSphere Medical, Inc., Copley Pharmaceuticals, Storage Technology, Avid and Michaels Stores. Clients rely on Mr. Batter to defend securities claims as well as to provide counsel on corporate governance matters and in connection with SEC, FINRA, FDIC and state regulatory investigations. 

In addition to advising clients in securities matters, Mr. Batter represents companies involved in litigation arising from consumer class actions and software or other technology licensing disputes. 

Professional Activities

Mr. Batter has served as a panelist for Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education programs entitled "Securities Litigation Demystified," "The Private Securities Reform Act of 1995" and "Fundamentals of Civil Litigation Preparation." He is a primary author of the chapter entitled "Federal Securities Litigation in the First Circuit" in MCLE Massachusetts Business Lawyer, and has addressed a Boston Bar Association forum on "Important Developments Since the Enactment of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995." 

Mr. Batter is a visiting teacher at MIT's Sloan School of Management, co-teaching since 1984 a course entitled "The Manager's Legal Function."

He also serves on the Board of Overseers of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole and is a member of the Board of Directors of the New England Legal Foundation, a non-profit public interest firm addressing policy concerns related to free enterprise.

Honors and Awards

• Recognized as a "New England Super Lawyer" (formerly "Massachusetts Super Lawyer") in securities litigation in Boston Magazine's annual listing.
• Recognized as a Massachusetts leader in the Litigation: Securities field in the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 editions of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.

Community Involvement

Mr. Batter is a former member of the Finance Committee for the Town of Weston, and served as chair of the town’s Committee to Study Uses and Space Needs for Public Lands and Buildings.