Some civic leaders enjoy basking in the limelight of their accomplishments while others quietly go about their work without attempting to draw attention to themselves. Doug Batchelor was one of those latter individuals.
Batchelor died April 7 at age 79.
An attorney with the prestigious Hull Barrett law firm, starting in 1969, Batchelor was on hand to aid the city with getting capital projects, such as the Riverwalk and the Civic Center (later renamed the James Brown Arena) off the ground.
While most of his practice was centered in Richmond County, Batchelor also served as counsel for Columbia County for 30 years.
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According to his obituary, Batchelor worked as bond counsel, issuers counsel, underwriters counsel or owners counsel in the issuance of local government general obligation bonds, water and sewer bonds, school bonds, revenue bonds, industrial development bonds, multifamily housing bonds, health care facility bonds and 501(c)(3) bonds.
Augusta Circuit Chief Superior Court Judge Danny Craig says Batchelor enjoyed practicing a field of law that other lawyers tend to eschew due to its complexity and ever-changing rules.
“He was someone you would go to for advice and his advice was always reliable. He knew more about government law and transactional law than probably anyone in town,” Craig said.
In transactional law, one error on a spreadsheet could cost a municipality a ton of money, but Craig says that Batchelor’s meticulous attention to detail provided the base for the city to pay off bonds on schedule. Many times he saved the taxpayers money by constantly looking for any financial pitfalls.
While Batchelor may have enjoyed the more ‘nerdier’ aspects of law, according to friend and colleague David Hudson, he was also a robust athlete with a love of equestrian sports..
Batchelor served as the National Cutting Horse Association regional director from Georgia, on the board of directors of the Augusta Futurity, a member of the Aiken Polo Club and President of the Augusta Sports Council.
“Doug loved golf, but his greatest sportsmanship was with horses. He competed in the Futurity, he competed in polo, He was a great horseman,” Hudson said.
According to Hudson, Batchelor was also known among his colleagues for being highly principled, and since he worked primarily for the government, he refused to get involved in politics.
“He made an agreement that neither he or his law firm would provide political contributions to any office holder or anyone seeking to be an office holder. What he was trying to do was to have the legal services provided on the merit of legal services and not to help someone get in or stay in office,” Hudson said.
Craig says that both Batchelor and wife of 52 years, Julia, were both gracious and not prone to putting on airs, despite their successful careers. Julia, who predeceased her husband, was an elementary school teacher.
“Doug and Julia were just wonderful, humble people who loved their community. Doug was a man of integrity and even though he retired many years ago, he will definitely be missed,” Craig said.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
