Richards, Layton & Finger PA

“Nobody knows Delaware law better than Richards, Layton & Finger.” (The Legal 500)

From the firm’s beginnings in 1899, Richards, Layton & Finger has played key roles in shaping Delaware law, and it has remained at the leading edge of the state’s evolving corporate law practice. The firm began building its extraordinary reputation in corporate law from the start, but it soon grew into a multidisciplinary law firm, offering clients a wide range of expertise and experience under one roof. Now, although their roots as local lawyers go deep, they routinely handle matters that are in the national spotlight. A sample of the firm’s recent contributions and accolades includes:

OUR TALENT

• Chambers USA lists 36 Richards Layton attorneys, more lawyers than from any other Delaware firm, and recognizes 6 of the firm’s practice areas for excellence (2023).
• Richards Layton has 28 practice areas listed in the Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms” rankings, with 24 practices in Tier 1—more top-tier practices than any other Delaware firm (2024).
• Richards Layton has 78 attorneys named in The Best Lawyers in America, more than any other Delaware firm (2024).

OUR PRACTICE

• Richards, Layton & Finger has served as Delaware counsel on the most M&A deals valued at or above $100 million for over 30 years running in The Deal’s annual rankings.
• With a pioneering alternative entities practice that is larger and more active than any other in Delaware, Richards Layton is recognized as “the firm that wrote the book on Delaware single purpose entities” (Chambers USA).
• Richards Layton lawyers have argued many of the ground-breaking cases defining the duties of corporate directors under Delaware law, including Unocal, Caremark, Paramount, Weinberger, and Disney.
• The firm’s bankruptcy and corporate restructuring attorneys are considered “the cream of the crop. The team is broad, deep and able to handle megacases from start to finish” (Chambers USA).

OUR DELAWARE EDGE

• Richards Layton lawyers play crucial roles in drafting and amending many of the state’s influential business statutes, including the Delaware General Corporation Law, Delaware Limited Partnership Act, Delaware Limited Liability Company Act, and Delaware Statutory Trust Act.
• Firm attorneys 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.
• A Richards Layton attorney is chair of the Litigation Rules Committee of the Delaware Supreme Court and past chair of the Court of Chancery Rules Committee.
• Richards Layton 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 as a state legislator.

GLOBAL REACH

• Richards, Layton & Finger is the exclusive member firm in Delaware for Lex Mundi.