Richards, Layton & Finger, Delaware’s largest law firm and one of its oldest, has been committed from its founding in 1899 to helping sophisticated clients navigate complex issues and the intricacies of Delaware law. Our lawyers have helped shape the laws that distinguish our state and have played an active role in the key cases that established Delaware as the premier venue for corporate transactions and litigation in the United States.
The firm’s corporate law practice includes general corporate counseling and advice, advice to corporate boards and committees on fiduciary and governance matters, corporate litigation, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate transactions. For more than 25 years, Richards, Layton & Finger has held the top spot in The Deal’s league tables for handling more high-value corporate transactions than any other Delaware law firm. The firm’s business law practice includes commercial transactions, advice regarding limited liability companies, partnerships and corporate trusts, financial transactions such as securitizations and structured finance, banking, bankruptcy and creditors’ rights advice and litigation, and real estate. On the litigation side, the firm leads the field. Its corporate litigators handle a wide range of corporate and fiduciary disputes, including complex litigation arising out of high-value M&A transactions. The firm’s bankruptcy litigators have been involved in hundreds of major chapter 11 cases filed in Delaware, and its general litigators represent clients in patent, employment, environmental, and commercial disputes. The firm’s tax practice includes federal and state income tax, escheat, trusts, estates and probate.
Richards, Layton & Finger has extensive experience in sophisticated transactions involving structuring, advising and operating Delaware entities, whether they are among the more than 66 percent of Fortune 500 companies that are incorporated in Delaware, limited liability companies or partnerships, single-purpose financing vehicles or tax-related holding companies. The preeminence of Delaware law, the large number of Delaware corporations and alternative entities, and Delaware’s unique court system make the state a favored forum for business formation and litigation, including litigation of corporate governance, shareholder rights, director liability and similar matters. Delaware’s federal district and bankruptcy courts enjoy outstanding reputations as centers for litigation of intellectual property and bankruptcy and creditors’ rights matters. The firm’s lawyers are leaders in these practice areas and are widely recognized for their Delaware business results.
