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Davis Butler

Shareholder

Davis Butler is a shareholder in Baker Donelson's Atlanta office and a member of the Corporate Group.

Professional Biography


Davis concentrates primarily on mergers and acquisitions and private securities offerings. He also advises boards of both for-profit and not-for-profit companies and serves as outside general counsel for small to medium-sized corporate entities. His practice includes a focus on health care, professional services, industrial, and sports entities. An experienced dealmaker and entrepreneur (having started nine businesses of his own), Davis provides comprehensive legal and business advice to his clients and their boards. With more than 30 years of global experience, he brings a unique perspective to the strategic formation of joint ventures and the effective governance of corporate entities.

For a decade, Davis worked with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), where he managed and negotiated international partnership agreements as part of the IOC's Top Programme, representing numerous Olympic stakeholders. During this time, he played a dual role in business and legal capacities, negotiating transactions worth many billions of dollars and managing intellectual property issues globally. He also represented the IOC before the European Commission on EU antitrust matters.

Davis previously worked at a large, national Atlanta-based law firm, focusing on health care and medical product liability litigation, health care M&A, and securities. He also managed a successful boutique corporate practice for many years. Davis has taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Georgia.

  • Compliance

  • Served as independent counsel to Borders Commission, an independent group chartered by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) to make recommendations to the USOPC other elite amateur sport organizations to better protect young elite athletes from sexual abuse.

  • Legislative

  • Represented the USOPC, the Committee of U.S. National Governing Bodies, and the Athlete's Commission before the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate in amending the Ted Stevens Amateur Sports Act to better and more strategically govern amateur sports in the United States following the abuse of young elite gymnasts.

  • Health Care

  • Served as outside general counsel to Kids Health First (KHF), a large pediatric independent practice association, and provided both board representation, guidance, and assistance in the strategic development of new ventures for KHF and its participating physicians.

  • Represented both private equity groups and physician practices in investments and acquisitions of physician practices.

  • Founded an innovative health care company to disrupt the current third-party payment system and represented the entity through several rounds of financing.

  • Sports

  • Negotiated global sponsorships between the International Olympic Committee and some of the largest corporations in the world, including, among others, The Coca-Cola Company, General Electric, Visa International, Proctor & Gambel, Johnson & Johnson, McDonald's, Atos Origin, Omega/Swatch, Time/Sports Illustrated, and Acer. Negotiated the first global Olympic Games sponsorship by a Chinese company (Lenovo).

  • Oversaw the revenue generation programs of 10 Olympic Organizing committees and all legal negotiations and documentation related to such programs.

  • Clerk to the Honorable Robert B. Propst – U.S. District Court for the N.D. of Alabama (1992 – 1993)
  • "Rights and Opportunities of the IOC's TOP Programme – Servicing Training Manual," IOC Television & Marketing Services, S.A. (2010)
  • "Why Invest in the Olympic Movement – Creating Substantial Returns," IOC Television & Marketing Services, S.A. (2010)
  • "IOC Marketing Commission – Annual Status Reports on the TOP Programme" (2004 – 2010)
  • "A Strategic Review of the IOC TOP Programme" (2007)
  • "Network Negotiations: Playing By The Antitrust Rules Even When It Hurts," Health Law Handbook (2000)
  • "Tax Exemption Update: The IRS on the Scent of New Health Care Arrangements," Health Law Handbook (1999)
  • "Using Your Law Degree to Protect Athletes – Restructuring Amateur Sport in the United States to Stop the Next Larry Nassar," University of Alabama School of Law (March 2020)

Education

  • University of Alabama School of Law, J.D.,1992
    • Junior and Senior Editor, Alabama Law Review, 1990 – 1992
  • Vanderbilt University, C.A.S., Mathematics, 1988, cum laude

Admissions

  • Georgia, 1993
  • Alabama, 1994

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