Former U.S. Attorney Michael A. Battle will receive the School of Law’s 2020 Edwin F. Jaeckle Award.

Battle, a member of the law school’s Class of 1981, will accept the award at the school’s annual New York City Alumni Luncheon, to be held Jan. 31 at the Union League Club in Manhattan during the week of the New York State Bar Association’s annual meeting.

The highest honor the UB School of Law and the UB Law Alumni Association can bestow, the Jaeckle Award is given annually to a person who exemplifies the highest ideals of the law school and its alumni association, and who has made significant contributions to the school and the legal profession.

The Jaeckle Award is named for Edwin F. Jaeckle, ’15, a founding partner of the Buffalo law firm Jaeckle, Fleischmann & Mugel and a major benefactor of the law school. Battle joins several other esteemed members of the legal community who have received this award, including last year’s recipient, Hon. Barbara Howe; Hon. Charles S. Desmond; Hon. Matthew J. Jasen; Manly Fleischmann; Jacob D. Hyman; Hon. M. Dolores Denman; and William R. Greiner, among others.

Battle has held several distinguished public service positions prior to entering private practice. From 2005-07, 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 appointed U.S. attorney in that district and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate 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.

He 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 UB 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 Alumnus Award for Community Service in 1997.