Law360 Names Morris Nichols a Dominant Force in Delaware Law: Citing Cross-Practice Collaboration as a Key to Success

“Serving the nation’s preeminent business law destination for nearly 100 years,” Morris Nichols has made Law360‘s annual list of Delaware Regional Powerhouse law firms for the fourth year in a row.

 “At the top of the call sheet” for “clients looking to navigate The First State’s critical legal landscape,” the firm’s reputation had led to another successful year.

Leveraging the interplay of the firm’s litigation and corporate counseling teams, “we’re able to pull together our combined knowledge and experience to get the best result for our client and really provide top-notch advice” said Morris Nichols partner Patricia Vella.

Her corporate counseling group observed conflict-of-interest transactions, such as companies obtaining financing from large or controlling stockholders or engaging in business combinations with controlling stockholders, becoming more common. “It’s really satisfying to work through the conflicts and put together a process that can withstand judicial scrutiny, to the extent it comes to that.”

One highlight from the past year was serving as Delaware counsel to IAC Holdings Inc. and certain directors in the Match.com appeal, an important M&A decision, given its critical significance clarifying how to apply seminal “MFW” standards in the deal context.

Another big corporate governance case was the firm’s representation of investment bank Moelis & Co. in a shareholder suit challenging a stockholder agreement between the company and its CEO and founder. The jurisprudence from “those types of issues help companies plan and take appropriate steps when they're involved in corporate transactions,” reflected corporate litigation partner John DiTomo.

Law360 touts the firm’s ability to “continue winning critical cases in Delaware’s Chancery, bankruptcy and federal district courts for clients of its corporate governance, restructuring and intellectual property practices.”

In Delaware federal courts, Morris Nichols’ bankruptcy group also benefits from the firm’s diverse practices. “It really does help to have the sort of cross-section of expertise we have at the firm,” explained bankruptcy partner Curtis Miller. “… just because of the nature of bankruptcy. It often involves a cross-section of different issues and expertise required to help solve those issues.”

With Chapter 11 filings and the restructuring market surging, Morris Nichols is well-positioned as a leader in the First State to represent “debtors, committees and others in complex restructuring actions.”

“This is Delaware,” said Curtis. “It’s obviously a very popular filing venue. That’s to our advantage in that we are before these judges multiple times every week. We have a really good sense of the court… and deploy that to our clients’ advantage.”

Morris Nichols intellectual property litigator Brian Egan concurred. When co-counsel and clients come to the District of Delaware, “What they look to us for is the way to navigate this venue to get the best result possible.” His group was involved in four trials in early 2024, including a trade secrets and patent jury trial win for HID Global.

“At the end of the day, I’m proud of the depth and breadth of our team and our commitment to client service,” said Bill Lafferty, chair of the firm’s executive committee. “These are the hallmarks that bolster our reputation and keep sophisticated work coming our way.”

Law360 is a news source for legal intelligence and insight. Each year, the publication highlights organizations and individuals across the legal community with a variety of awards and honors. Delaware was one of 14 US regions examined in the annual Regional Powerhouse series. Powerhouse honorees are selected based on the percentage of attorneys in the state and the strength of matters handled in the state over the past 12 months.

Read the full article, “Delaware Powerhouse: Morris Nichols,” from Law360.