American Battery Technology Company (OTCQB:ABML) (ABTC) has appointed Bret Meich as its general counsel, who joins as a member of the executive team and reporting to the chief executive officer of the company.
"As we accelerate the execution of our technology and business roadmaps, it is imperative that we establish in-house general counsel to take ownership of our legal affairs roadmap and to coordinate the efforts of our external counsel specialists with immediate prioritization in due diligence and execution of our strategic partnerships, intellectual property portfolio, merger and acquisition diligence, and corporate governance," ABTC CEO Ryan Melsert said in a statement.
"We are extremely fortunate to have Bret joining the ABTC team to lead these efforts, and his extensive connections and experience in the local community have already yielded return," he added.
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Meich was most recently a partner at the law firm Downey Brand LLP for seven years, notably as lead trial counsel in complex commercial, natural resources, construction, real estate, labor and employment matters in courts in Nevada and California, ABTC said.
Additionally, he has counseled clients in a range of intellectual property disputes and represented a technology licensor through several complex actions that resulted in multiple favorable judgments for license fees and other damages. Earlier in his career, Meich spent over six years at the law firm Armstrong Teasdale LLP as a business litigation and government law attorney, the company noted.
At ABTC, Meich will be responsible for leading all aspects of its legal affairs and serve as a strategic advisor to the executive leadership and the board of directors. His areas of accountability will include risk management strategies, regulatory compliance, and corporate governance, which encompasses transactional law, securities law, regulatory matters, privacy protection, ethics, and patent, copyright, and trademark protections, among others.
He will provide counsel for the company in a wide range of strategic decisions as it grows to technical development and commercialization of domestic, sustainable sourcing of critical battery materials through lithium-ion battery recycling and primary battery metal extraction technologies.
Meich holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, cum laude, from Georgetown University, and he earned his Juris Doctor degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law.
"I am honored to join ABTC's dynamic and experienced team in this critical industry. I have great respect for the company's leadership, and I am eager to bring my legal experience to bear to further the many strategic initiatives of the company," Meich said.
ABTC is uniquely positioned to supply low-cost, low-environmental impact, and domestically-sourced battery metals through its three divisions: lithium-ion battery recycling, primary battery metal extraction technologies, and primary resources development.
The company has built a clean technology platform that is used to provide a key source of domestically-manufactured critical and strategic battery metals to help meet the near insatiable demand from the electric vehicle, electrical grid storage, and consumer electronics industries. This ESG-principled platform works to create a closed-loop circular economy for battery metals that champions ethical and environmentally sustainable sourcing of critical and strategic materials.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com