Interim General Counsel
Ivan Boatner is the lab’s interim general counsel. He has over 25 years of legal experience in the Department of Energy and government contracting sector. His goal is to provide prompt, proactive, and practical advice to ensure UT-Battelle can effectively achieve its business objectives while mitigating risks and ensuring compliance with laws, regulations, and contracts.
Ivan came to ORNL from the Baker Donelson law firm where he was a member of the Government Enforcement and Investigations Group and focused his practice on government contracts and civil litigation. He has been a frequent speaker at government contracting events and has published several articles on topics of importance to government contractors. Prior to his time in private practice, Ivan spent many years as the vice president, general counsel, and director of contractor assurance for Oak Ridge Associated Universities. During this time, he developed expertise in all facets of performance and compliance under DOE contracts. The first ten years of Ivan’s DOE-focused practice were spent as a litigation attorney for DOE in Oak Ridge. In this role, he represented DOE in a wide array of litigation to include contract disputes, environmental, Freedom of Information Act, False Claims Act, whistleblower, employment, and Federal Tort Claims Act.
Ivan holds a bachelor of arts degree from Sewanee: The University of the South in history with a concentration in early European history. Ivan attended Tulane University Law School where he graduated cum laude and served as the senior associate editor of Tulane Law Review. He is admitted to practice in both Tennessee and the District of Columbia. Ivan currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, and the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.