Parsons
Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell LLP announced that former Vice Chancellor Donald F. Parsons, Jr. will be joining the firm as Senior Counsel in March.
He worked for more than two decades at the firm before going to Chancery Court.
Parsons retired from the Delaware Court of Chancery in October 2015. During his time on the bench, Parsons issued hundreds of opinions and rulings addressing questions concerning corporation law, alternative entities, trademark and intellectual property law, and other complex commercial matters.
Parsons will also work with Morris Nichols in developing its alternative dispute resolution practice, including serving as a third party neutral in mediations and arbitrations.
“We look forward to working again with our former partner and friend,” stated 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.”
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. “It has been a privilege to serve on the Delaware Court of Chancery,” said Parsons. “Serving as Vice Chancellor has been a great honor that I will always cherish. Now, I am looking forward to returning to Morris Nichols to practice alongside some of the state’s, if not the nation’s, most respected practitioners.”
Vice Chancellor Parsons presided over many high-profile cases including: 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.
Parsons served from 2005 to 2015 as a volunteer mediator in the Federal Circuit Mediation Program.
A past-president of the Delaware State Bar Association, he helped create Delaware’s. Combined Campaign for Justice to provide legal services to those in need.
Parsons graduated from Lehigh University (B.S. 1970, M.S. 1972) and Georgetown University Law Center (J.D. 1977). He clerked for James L. Latchum of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware before first joining Morris Nichols in 1979.