General Info

From our firm?s beginnings in 1899, our lawyers have played key roles in shaping Delaware law, and we have remained at the leading edge of our state?s evolving corporate law practice. We began building our extraordinary reputation in corporate law from the start, but we soon grew into a multidisciplinary law firm, offering clients a wide range of expertise and experience under one roof. Now, although our roots as local lawyers go deep, we routinely handle matters that are in the national spotlight. A sample of our recent contributions and accolades includes: Our Talent Chambers USA lists 33 of our attorneys, more lawyers than from any other Delaware firm, and ranks Richards Layton in its top tier in 7 areas of law (2013). Benchmark Litigation gives our firm its highest ranking and names 14 of our lawyers as Litigation Stars, the most lawyers of any Delaware firm (2013). Richards Layton is ranked in the top tier in Delaware in 17 practice areas by the U.S.News Best Lawyers 2012-2013 ?Best Law Firm? rankings. The Best Lawyers in America names 45 of our attorneys?more than from any other Delaware firm?and lists our firm as first in the state in 16practice areas (2014). Our Practice Richards Layton served as Delaware counsel on 69 deals valued at $100 million or more in 2012, more than the other Delaware firms combined?in fact, we?ve had the most high-value deals for 13 years running in Corporate Control Alert?s annual rankings. Our pioneering alternative entity practice is larger and more active than any other in Delaware, and Chambers USA described us as ?the firm that wrote the book on Delaware single purpose entities.? We have argued many of the ground-breaking cases defining the duties of corporate directors under Delaware law, including Unocal, Caremark, Paramount, Weinberger, and Disney. Chambers USA called our bankruptcy and corporate restructuring attorneys ?the cream of the crop. The team is broad, deep and able to handle megacases from start to finish.? Our Delaware EDGE Our lawyers play crucial roles in drafting and amending many of the state?s business statutes, including the Delaware Statutory Trust Act, Delaware General Corporation Law, Delaware Limited Partnership Act, and Delaware Limited Liability Company Act. We wrote and continue to update The Delaware Law of Corporations and Business Organizations and Lubaroff & Altman on Delaware Limited Partnerships, two leading treatises on Delaware law. Our lawyers and alumni have been appointed to the state and federal judiciary?including the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court, the Delaware Court of Chancery, and chief justice of the Delaware Supreme Court?and have served as a United States congressman, the governor of Delaware, Delaware?s secretary of state, and a current state legislator. A Richards Layton attorney is the appointed chair of the Court of Chancery Rules Committee and past chair of the Litigation Rules Committee of the Delaware Supreme Court.