Raymond Batla joined the faculty at Charleston School of Law as a Visiting Professor after a career in private practice and law firm management with a major international law firm and its network.  He teaches a number of business law courses, including Business Associations, International Business Transactions, Drafting Contracts, Loan Agreements, and Acquisition Agreements, and International Transactions and Project Finance. He is the author of more than 30 articles and contributor to two books on energy law and project financing matters. Professor Batla has had over thirty speaking engagements at energy industry and bar association continuing legal education seminars on regulatory and corporate finance matters.

Professor Batla received his J. D. with Honors from the  University  of Texas School of Law, where he served as Research Scholar on the Texas Law Review and was awarded the Order of Coif.  He received his B. S. in Civil Engineering with Highest Honors from the University of Texas at Austin.  He is a member of the bars of the United States Supreme Court, Texas, New York, and the District of Columbia, and is a Registered Foreign Lawyer with the Law Society of England and Wales.

Professor Batla spent over 40 years practicing law with the international law firm of Hogan Lovells and its predecessor Hogan & Hartson.  Early in his career  in the firm’s Washington. D. C. office, he specialized for several years in corporate and securities matters but later developed a practice in energy regulation.  While partner in charge of the energy practice, he was lead counsel to major and independent oil and gas companies in successfully litigating billion dollar liability claims in numerous administrative and federal court cases. After retiring from the Hogan Lovells partnership, Batla continued as Of Counsel to the firm and served two years as Chairman of the Pacific Rim Advisory Council, a network of 30 leading law firms from 23 countries with business interests in the Pacific rim,