Advising the Small Business

Jean L. Batman founded Legal Venture Counsel, Inc. in 2004 to provide outside general counsel services to investors, entrepreneurs, and small businesses. Prior to forming Legal Venture Counsel, Ms. Batman was a Partner in the San Fran­cisco offices of Duane Morris LLP, one of the country's 100 largest law firms. As outside general counsel to a variety of companies and individuals, Ms. Batman provides business and financial legal services to privately-held entities oper­ating in a broad range of industries including real estate development, financial and professional services, manufacturing, software, retail, biotechnology/spe­cialty pharmaceutical, and high technology. She has written and spoken on a number of topics of interest to the business community, such as choice of entity, venture financing, and finding practical solutions to common legal problems.


Ms. Batman is the author of the ABA best-seller "Advising the Small Business: Forms and Advice for the Legal Practitioner," now in its third edition, as well as the ABA books "Letters for Small Business Lawyers," and "Of Counsel 5th ed." She chaired the ABA Business Law Section's Middle Market and Small Business Committee from 2001 to 2005, served as a Board Member of the ABA Business Law Section's Publications Board from 2001 to 2005, Co-Founded and Co-Chaired the ABA's Private Placement Broker-Dealer Task Force in 1999, is a member of The State Bar of California and the Bar Association of San Francisco, and has served as designated closing counsel for the Small Business Administration¿s 504 loan program and GP Solo Division Liason for the ABA Business Law Section.

Prior to becoming an attorney, Ms. Batman had an active career in the Secu­rities Industry, culminating with her position in 1989 as President of Smith-Thomas Investment Services, Inc. (a registered Broker-Dealer). During her tenure in the Securities Industry, Ms. Batman held a total of seven licenses from the National Association of Securities Dealers (now FINRA) ranging from General Sales to Finance and Operations Principal (Series 7, 6, 63, 39, 22, 24, and 27).

Ms. Batman is recognized as among the top 10% of Corporate and Transactional Attorneys in the United States as an inaugural member of Lawyers of Distinction. She earned an American Jurisprudence Award for excellent achievement in the study of Commercial Transactions in 1989 and served as a Judicial Extern in the California Court of Appeal for the late Hon. Justice J. Perley, 1st District in San Francisco in 1990.

Ms. Batman is a 1990 graduate of the University of California's Hastings College of Law (J.D.), and a 1985 graduate of The Paul Merage School of Business at UC Irvine (M.B.A.). She completed her undergraduate studies at the UC Irvine (B.A.).