Holly S. Battersby

Holly S. Battersby is a shareholder with the firm who specializes in defending a broad range of civil litigation arising under both state and federal law. Holly regularly represents governmental entities and their employees in courts across the state. Her areas of expertise include defense of constitutional law claims, including police civil rights actions, claims asserted against correctional facilities and First Amendment claims, as well as state law tort claims related arising under the proprietary function, public building, highway and motor vehicle exceptions to governmental immunity. Holly additionally prosecutes zoning ordinance violations and violations of the Uniform Traffic Code for various municipal clients.

Holly is a graduate of Michigan State University College of Law, where she was active in the Trial Practice Institute, appointed to the Moot Court Executive Board and acted as the Moot Court Appellate Class Director. While in law school, she also received numerous awards, including Best Brief-Writer and Best Oral Argument in local and national competitions, as well as the American Jurisprudence Award for Research, Writing and Advocacy.

Practice Areas

• General Municipal Law
• Constitutional Law and Civil Rights
• Insurance Defense
• Prosecution and Ordinance Enforcement

Education

• Michigan State University College of Law, J.D. cum laude, 2008
• University of Michigan, B.A., Economics and Spanish, 2004

Professional Activities / Memberships

• American Bar Association
• State Bar of Michigan
• Oakland County Bar Association
  Member, Municipal Law Committee

Admitted to Practice

• All courts in the State of Michigan
• United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
• United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan
• United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
• United States Supreme Court

Awards

• Selected to Thomson Reuters as Super Lawyer in the area of Municipal Law, 2020-2021
• Selected to Thomson Reuters as Super Lawyer Rising Star in the area of municipal law, 2012-2018

Presentations

• Presenter at the MAMA Annual Meeting on the topic "Police Contact with the Mentally Ill", 2020
• Presenter at the MMRMA Annual Joint Committee Meeting on the topic “Police Contact with The Mentally Ill,” 2018
• Presenter at the MMRMA Corrections Seminar on the topic “Deliberate Indifference and Use of Force: A Litigation Perspective,” 2018
• Presenter at the State Bar of Michigan Government Law Section Winter Seminar on the topic “Recent Governmental Immunity Updates,” 2018
• Presenter at the Michigan Local Government Management Association Winter Institute on the topic "The Impact of Video Evidence on Police Litigation", 2015
• Presenter at the MMRMA Annual Joint Committee Meeting on the topic "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Litigation," 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2017