Yesterday Magistrate Judge Leonard Stark was confirmed by the Senate to fill the vacancy in the Delaware District Court left three and a half years ago when Judge Jordan was elevated to the Third Circuit. The White House has not yet nominated the successor to fill the vacancy due to Judge Farnan's retirement from the bench.
18 Morris James attorneys in 13 practice areas were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2011. New to the list are Mark D. Olson and Bruce W. Tigani from the firm’s Tax, Estates and Business practice. The firm’s Real Estate Practice Group Chair, Richard Beck, has been named in this highly regarded publication since its inception in 1983.
The Best Lawyers in America® 2011 has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Their rigorous research is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which more than 39,000 leading attorneys cast almost 3.1 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas. The Morris James attorneys listed in the 2011 edition and the areas of law in which they are recognized include:
COMMERCIAL LITIGATION
• P. Clarkson Collins, Jr. (2005)
• Lewis H. Lazarus (2006)
• Edward M. McNally (2005)
• James W. Semple (2009)
CORPORATE LAW
• P. Clarkson Collins, Jr. (2005)
• Lewis H. Lazarus (2006)
• Edward M. McNally (2005)
ELDER LAW
• Mary M. Culley (2008)
EDUCATION LAW
• David H. Williams (2007)
FAMILY LAW
• Gretchen S. Knight (2007)
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LAW
• Richard K. Herrmann (2003)
INSURANCE LAW
• Mary B. Matterer (2009)
LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LAW
• David H. Williams (2007)
PERSONAL INJURY LITIGATION
• Keith E. Donovan (2009)
• Dennis D. Ferri (2007)
• Richard Galperin (2005)
• Francis J. Jones, Jr. (2008)
REAL ESTATE LAW
• Richard P. Beck (1983)
• John Bloxom IV (2010)
TAX LAW
• Daniel P. McCollom (2007)
• Mark D. Olson (2011) *
• Bruce W. Tigani (2011) *
TECHNOLOGY LAW
• Richard K. Herrmann (2003)
TRUSTS AND ESTATES
• Mary M. Culley (2008)
* Indicates First Year on List
Morris James LLP is pleased to announce that five of its partners have been recognized among the top Delaware litigation attorneys in Benchmark Litigation 2011 - The Guide to America's Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys.
Morris James’ Litigation Stars
Rich Galperin
Clark Collins
Richard Herrmann
Lewis Lazarus
Edward McNally
Benchmark Litigation focuses exclusively on litigation lawyers and firms in the United States. Recommendations are based on extensive face-to-face and telephone interviews with the nation’s leading private practice lawyers and in-house counsel.
Morris James LLP is pleased to announce that ten of its partners have been ranked among the leading Delaware lawyers in the 2010 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business - an increase of two rankings from last year. In addition, four practice areas including Bankruptcy/Restructuring, Chancery, Intellectual Property and Employment Law were identified among the leading practices in Delaware. The Morris James partners selected for inclusion in the 2010 edition are:
Bankruptcy/Restructuring
Chancery
Intellectual Property
Labor and Employment
Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use
Chambers & Partners is a highly respected and influential London-based research and publishing company that provides rankings of leading business lawyers and law firms throughout the world. Rankings are based on technical legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial astuteness, diligence, commitment, and other qualities most valued by clients.
Morris James LLP is pleased to announce Peter B. Ladig has joined the firm as of June 1, 2010. The majority of Mr. Ladig’s practice is in the Delaware Court of Chancery, although he has extensive experience in the other state and federal courts in Delaware and has been involved in over 50 published decisions.
David Williams, the firm’s managing partner stated “We are delighted Peter Ladig has joined the Firm as a partner in our Corporate/Commercial Litigation Group. Peter adds his considerable skill and experience to a talented Group. We continue to look for opportunities to grow our Firm by adding accomplished laterals, particularly in the IP practice.”
Mr. Ladig has represented both stockholders and directors in litigation in the Court of Chancery in cases involving, among other things, advancement of legal fees and expenses, contested elections of directors, requests to inspect books and records and claims for breaches of fiduciary duties. He has also represented corporations and other entities in commercial disputes involving breach of contract claims and claims arising under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.
Mr. Ladig has authored several articles pertaining to corporate and commercial litigation in Delaware and he is a frequent speaker before groups of professionals regarding Delaware laws affecting LLCs and other business entities. Mr. Ladig graduated with distinction from Emory University School of Law and has been a member of the Delaware Bar since 1996.
Super Lawyers® magazine has named 7 Morris James partners as top legal counsel in Delaware. The multiphase selection process is handled by Law & Politics who evaluates each candidate on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. Selections are made on an annual, state-by-state basis and include only 5 percent of the licensed attorneys in a state.
Morris James’ 2010 nominations include:
• Richard Herrmann – Intellectual Property Litigation
• P. Clarkson Collins, Jr. - Business Litigation, Business/Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions
• Richard Galperin - Personal Injury Defense: Medical Malpractice
• Lewis H. Lazarus - Business Litigation
• Edward M. McNally - Business Litigation, Business/Corporate
• James W. Semple - Business Litigation, General Litigation, Insurance Coverage
• David H. Williams - Employment & Labor, Government/Cities/Municipalities
Federal Magistrate Stark is one step closer to taking a seat on the bench of the Delaware District Court. The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, May 13, 2010, unanimously approved the nomination of Magistrate Stark to become a district judge, sending his nomination to the full Senate for consideration.
U.S. Chamber’s Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) has released its survey ranking the states with the best and worst legal climates in the country.
President Obama has nominated Leonard Stark to fill the judicial vacancy in the District of Delaware created after Judge Jordan's elevation to the Third Circuit. Judge Leonard P. Stark is a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Delaware, a position he has held since 2007. Previously, he was an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Delaware and an associate in the Delaware office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.
After 25 years of dedicated service as a United States District Judge for the District of Delaware, the Honorable Joseph J. Farnan, Jr. submitted his letter of retirement to President Barack Obama. Judge Farnan plans to leave his office on July 31, 2010 and return to the practice of law. During his tenure on the bench, Judge Farnan was pivotal in cementing the Court's reputation as a national venue for complex litigation.
It has been reported that the following names for consideration as Vice Chancellor in the Delaware Court of Chancery have been submitted to Governor Jack Markell from his Judicial Nominating Commission:
Morris James was recognized as the highest-ranking law firm in Delaware in their "Best in the Business" survey for "Mid-sized Companies". The survey, conducted for The News Journal by WorkplaceDynamics, gathered feedback from 97 participating organizations on a variety of factors such as management, advancement, environment and compensation.
Morris James has launched a new e-discovery blog titled Delaware eDiscovery Report. Chris Spizzirri's expertise has been described by Gabe's Guide to the e-Discovery Universe as "top notch." We invite you to check out the blog and follow e-discovery developments.
It was reported in the Delaware Grapevine by Celia Cohen that the candidates for the vacant judgeship in this district are rumored to be Andre Bouchard, managing partner at Bouchard Margules & Friedlander, U.S. Magistrate Judge Leonard Stark, and Mary Graham, a partner at Morris Nichols Arsht & Tunnell.
Chief Judge Sleet announced today that the court would be assigning every fourth case to a judge selected from a roster of about 6 judges from the E.D.Pa. and possibly later from the D.N.J. until the vacancy is filled with a fourth judge in this district. It is expected that the pretrial proceedings will take place where those judges normally reside, but the trials will take place in Delaware. It is unclear at this point whether those cases will be reassigned once the vacancy is filled.
The White House confirmed today that it has sent U.S. Attorney Colm F. Connolly's name to the U.S. Senate as its nominee to fill a vacancy on the federal bench in Delaware.
Connolly's name was submitted for consideration by President Bush along with three others last year to fill the position left vacant by Kent A. Jordan after he was appointed to the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.
Given that the vacancy in the fourth judgeship has lasted for over one year and is not likely to be filled in the near future, the District judges entered an Order on January 23, 2008 rescinding their prior Order "In Re: Assignment Of Civil Cases To United States Magistrate Judges" which was made effective on August 6 2007. By this Joint Order, all cases assigned pursuant to the Order of August 6, 2007, and all cases filed in the future in the District shall, until further notice, be divided among the three active District Judges in accordance with the method currently employed by the Court for the allocation of assignments.
A copy of the full article is available here.
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For more information concerning any of these cases, contact Mary Matterer at mmatterer@morrisjames.com or 302.888.6960
