Former Vice Chancellor Donald F. Parsons Jr. will rejoin Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell as a senior counsel in March.
Parsons, who retired from the Delaware Court of Chancery in October, issued hundreds of opinions and rulings addressing corporate law, alternative entities, trademark and intellectual property law, and commercial matters.
He will work in alternative dispute resolution, corporate governance, special committee assignments, internal investigations, mergers and acquisitions, stockholder activism, and patents.
“We look forward to working again with our former partner and friend,” said Rodger D. Smith II, chair of the firm’s executive committee. “We expect the former vice chancellor will be a tremendous asset to the firm and a valuable resource for us to share with our clients and friends.”
Vice Chancellor Parsons spent the first 24 years of his legal career at Morris Nichols, litigating over 100 intellectual property cases as lead counsel and Delaware co-counsel. He was appointed to the Court of Chancery in 2003 by Governor Ruth Ann Minner.
While on the bench, Vice Chancellor Parsons presided over Third Point v. Ruprecht, a challenge to Sotheby’s adoption of a novel “poison pill” takeover defense during a proxy contest; In re Bear Sterns Companies, Inc., a class action challenge to the then-proposed merger of Bear Stearns and JPMorgan brokered with the assistance of the Federal Reserve and the Department of the Treasury at the inception of the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis; In re Cogent, Inc., addressing the validity of rapidly developing transaction structures and “deal protection” provisions in negotiated public company merger agreements; Zucker v. Andreessen, a derivative case challenging the severance benefits paid by Hewlett-Packard to its CEO following his unexpected termination; PharmAthene v. Siga, which resulted in an approximately $195 million damages award for breach of a binding agreement to negotiate a pharmaceutical license in good faith; and cases involving the governance of private and publicly traded alternative entities, such as Twin Bridges v. Draper, Zimmerman v. Crothall, In re Encore Energy Partners, and In re K-Sea Transportation Partners.
He also served from 2005 to 2015 as a volunteer mediator in the Federal Circuit Mediation Program.
